The Unbalanced Force
by Girlbender875
Summary: The Alliance has won the war. The Emperor is dead. Darth Vader is dead. Or is he? A great unbalance in the Force brings Anakin Skywalker back from the dead, but is he Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader? Who's side is he on? And what caused the unbalance?
1. The Alliance Has Won

The soft light of the sunrise made the trees of the Endor glow as the sounds of footsteps came crunching through bushes below. The Rebels looked exhausted, mostly because they had been partying all night. A tired and still a little injured Luke Skywalker got to the waiting Alliance ships first, and slowly climbed up the ramp. His sister Leia followed him. They trudged their way to their separate quarters and collapsed onto their beds. Luke sighed. The Empire was finally dead, but so was Anakin Skywalker, his father. Luke would have loved for him to be alive, but he knew that was never going to happen.

If he only knew how wrong he was.


	2. Landing on Naboo

"What are we doing?"

Han Solo looked at Admiral Ackbar as he watched the streaks of hyperspace fade away.

"We're stopping by on a planet that supports the Rebellion." Ackbar replied. "It's perfectly safe, General Solo; and we're close to the core of the Empire."

Han looked at the view screen. "What planet is it?"

"Naboo," Admiral Ackbar answered. "We'll be landing in five standard minutes. I advise you get everyone ready."

"Easier said than done," Han mumbled his breath as he walked out of the bridge. He followed the hallway to Luke's room and knocked on the door. When no reply came, Han opened the door and walked in.

Luke was on the bed fast asleep, an occasional twitch of his fingers shifting the covers slightly. Han walked up to him and gave him a slight shake. Luke gave a loud snore.

"No…" he slurred in his sleep. "Father, help…Father…please…help…FATHER!"

Han jumped away as Luke screamed out the last time and jumped awake. Sweat beaded all over his face, and he started panting for air.

Han ran over to him. "What's wrong?"

Luke jumped in surprise. "Han!"

"Yeah, me; now what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Luke replied, although he seemed pretty out of it. "Nothing at all…"

Suddenly, the ground shifted beneath them. Luke jumped out of bed.

"What's going on? Why are we landing?"

Han held out his hands. "Hey, easy! I already talked to Admiral Ackbar; he said we're landing on some place called Naboo. It's perfectly safe."

"Naboo?" Luke stared at Han. "I've never heard of that planet."

"It's near Coruscant," Han looked out in the hallway. "Where's Leia?"

"She's in her room, sleeping," Luke said, a little annoyed. "Do you know anything about Naboo?"

"What? Oh, uh…" Han thought for a moment. "I think I might have heard a little bit bout it; it caused quite a bit of trouble for the Empire. I heard they were harboring Jedi at the beginning of the Empire."

"They were harboring Jedi?" Luke exclaimed.

"Yeah, but we can talk about this later." Han opened up the door and walked out into the hallway. "Let's get going."

Luke sighed. "All right,"


	3. Feel Free to Wander

**Here's the third chapter! Sorry it took me so long to submit it...I've had a ton of things to do lately...I'll try to be faster and better with submitting chapters, but I can't make any guarantees unfortunately. **

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Han and Luke walked down the hallway, and stopped in front of Leia's door. Han held up his hand to knock on the door, but right as his fist went down the door opened to reveal Leia. Luke made a motion to grab Han's hand.

"Han!" Luke shouted to get his attention. Han looked over at Luke as his hand descended and soundly knocked Leia hard on the head.

"Han!" Leia shouted.

Han jumped and looked over at Leia. Some Rebels walking by laughed and shouted out.

"Han!" They yelled and laughed some more.

"Oh, shut up," Han looked over at Leia. "Sorry about that."

Leia rubbed her head. "It's all right. Why have we landed? Where are we?"

Han rolled his eyes, muttering, "You both are related all right,"

"We're on a planet called Naboo," Luke answered.

Leia's eyes widened. "Naboo? We're that close to Coruscant?"

"You know about Naboo…?" Luke started to say, but he then felt like a dope as soon as he said it; of course Leia would know about Naboo. She was, after all, a senator of the Imperial Senate before it was disbanded.

"Luke, you know-" Leia's answer was interrupted when a Rebel walked over to them.

"General Solo, Commander Skywalker, Princess Leia," he acknowledged respectfully. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Admiral Ackbar requests your presence."

"Where is he?" Luke asked.

"He's already gone down the landing ramp, sir."

"Thank you, soldier."

Luke, Leia, and Han walked down the hallway and down the landing ramp to see a bustling city. Parents wandered around with their children near a shopping square, and shopkeepers kept busy advertising their stock. In the center of all the bustle was a fountain and an elaborate palace could be seen behind it.

Han and Luke stared for a while as Leia looked for the Admiral. A growl got her attention, and she turned to see Chewbacca.

"Chewie," Leia said. "Where's Admiral Ackbar?"

Chewbacca replied with another growl, and pointed to where the Admiral stood waiting for them. Leia grabbed Luke and Han's arms and dragged their attention to Ackbar. The four all walked over to where Ackbar was standing.

Ackbar noticed their arrival. "We're currently going to be residing in this city, Theed. We have no need to worry about the Imperials; they're not here. In fact, I heard they're not anywhere in the area; they all went to go support the fleet protecting the second Death Star. There were supposed to be orders for another group to come and stay here, but the Emperor and Darth Vader were killed before those orders could be sent out."

Luke flinched with a pang of sadness as he was reminded of his father's death. Leia took note of it, but she kept silent.

"All right," Han replied, stretching. "Does that mean relaxation has finally caught up with us?"

The Admiral smiled, and then he nodded. "Yes, feel free to wander. I heard there are extraordinary sights on this planet."

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**Hope you guys enjoyed it! I haven't even started on the fourth chapter, so you may be in for a little bit of a wait. Sorry!**


	4. Strange Weather

**Well, here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long, even though you all practically begged me to update soon, I'm really busy and I'm really disorganized...but I got it here! (triumphant music starts up) haha!**

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The cloudy sky loomed over them as Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca wandered around Theed. Han looked up at the clouds.

"That's strange," he muttered. "Wasn't it sunny just a few moments ago?"

"Yes, it was," Luke answered, joining Han in observing the clouds. "I wonder where those clouds came from."

Chewbacca gave an indifferent grunt. _As long as the clouds don't ruin my lunch; I'm starving. _

Leia laughed at Chewie's comment, and tried to find a vender with some fruits for sale. She herself was hungry as well.

"Luke, why don't you and Han see if you can find us one of those visitor cards showing all of the places to eat?" Leia asked. Luke gave an affirmative nod and walked off with Han.

Leia sighed. "Chewie, does Luke seem to be brooding?"

Chewbacca shrugged.

"Your awarness astounds me."

Just as Han and Luke disappeared into the crowd, rain droplets started to come down softly. Leia looked up at the sky. The cloudly sky had suddenly changed into stormclouds, bringing down rain, and suddenly beginning to rumble with thunder.

"What is with this weather?" Leia put an arm over her head as the gentle drizzle turned into pouring rain in a matter of seconds. Nubian weather normally wasn't like this; it was rather moderate, normally very similar to Alderaanian weather; or at least when Alderaan was still in existence.

As people ran for cover from the sudden downpour, Leia noticed one little girl with brown wavy hair walking in the rain as if nothing was happening. She didn't blink at all when the water splashed her face, and her hands remained stiffly at her side as the cold water soaked her to the skin. Chewbacca growled.

"What's wrong?" Leia looked over at the Wookiee. He gave another low, menacing growl. _Something's wrong with that girl._

Leia looked back at the young girl she saw off in the distance, only to see the girl walking straight towards her. Startled, Leia began to back off.

"Come on, Chewie," she said suddenly. "Let's find Luke and Han."


	5. Going from Strange to Unnatural

Luke and Han were hopelessly lost as they desperately looked for Leia and Chewbaca. The sudden downpour of rain had caught Luke off guard, and so he and Han had abandoned looking for the visitor's card and started to search for Leia and Chewie.

After a few minutes that seemed like an eternity in the freezing rain, Luke spotted Leia running up to him and Han with Chewbacca following behind her.

"Leia!" Luke shouted out. "Over here!"

Leia ran up rather quickly, and Luke sensed something was wrong.

"Leia, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Leia replied hastily. "I don't know if that girl is, though."

"Girl?" Han looked around. "What girl?"

Chewbacca made a nervous noise. Luke looked over at Han.

"What, Chewie?"

Chewbacca repeated his nervous noise. Luke looked over at where the Wookiee was motioning, and saw a girl with light brown hair walking in the rain. She seemed to be walking towards them. Leia looked over and jumped.

Han raised an eyebrow. "Leia, do you know that girl?"

"That's the girl that made me go looking for you," the Alderaanian Princess said. "The way she's walking is just unnatural; something has to be wrong with her. Luke, can you sense anything?"

Luke focused on the girl, and gave himself to the Force. Through the Force, he saw that there was something wrong; and not just with the girl; something was wrong with _everything_. Although this feeling greatly disturbed him, he didn't meditate on it any longer, since a very hard thump hit him on the head. His world span and began to darken, and after hearing Leia call out his name, Luke fell to the ground and the world around him turned black.


	6. The Myth of Two Lovers

Han frantically dodged giant iceballs the size of Nubian pears. He jumped down and grabbed Luke, feeling the bump where the hail had hit him. Something was definitely wrong; this hail had come completely out of nowhere. Citizens screamed as they ran in every direction, no longer finding cover for mere convenience. Chewbacca grabbed Luke, and Han grabbed Leia's arm. The three ran off into the crowd, trying their best not to get split up.

After a few minutes, they ran into a small inn with some other people. As Chewbacca put Luke down on a couch, Leia and Han looked out the window at the hail. Nervously, Han looked over at Leia.

"Is this weather normal for Naboo?" he asked.

"No,"

Leia and Han both jumped at the sound of the stranger's voice and turned around to see a woman with dark brown eyes and shoulder length hair walk up to them.

"I'm sorry to startle you," said the woman. "You two seem like outsiders. Is that Wookiee with you?"

"Yes," Leia answered.

"I see," The woman looked contemplative. "How about the boy with the Wookiee?"

Han looked at where she was motioning and saw Luke trying to wake up.

"Yeah," Han looked carefully into the woman's eyes. "Listen, do you know what's going on here? What's with this weather?"

The woman had an odd look of knowing something on her face. Her eyes became glassy, almost dreamy. "Strange things happen in places like this. With a history filled with tragedy and mystery, Theed is a very strange place indeed."

"I beg your pardon?" Leia looked confused.

"The city of Theed holds many secrets and mysteries," the woman continued. "A great tragedy occurred here. Many say a spirit wanders here. Others say a spirit just arrived here. Many more say that two lovers lived and died here. No one knows the true story; there is only a myth."

"A myth?" Han repeated blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"The legend goes that two lovers met here," the woman seemed to hear nothing they were saying. "A long, long time ago, the two lovers met and fell in love with each other. One was destined not to marry though; his destiny lied elsewhere. However, in an act of pure love, he defied his destiny and married the girl. Their marriage remained a secret until the boy's destiny caught up with him, and the girl's life was swept from her body. Deranged and miserable, the boy lost his mind, and his own self. Years later, the boy died. To this day, people say that the boy's spirit searches in vain for his lover, and every time a disaster comes to Naboo, people say that it is the spirit of the boy, angry and upset that his lover cannot be found."

A very uncomfortable pause followed the woman's tale. Suddenly, her dreamy eyed look gone, she smiled at Han and Leia.

"Well, I'd best be getting back to check on others," she said kindly. "Oh, and I believe someone is looking for you." She went on, pointing outside.

The woman walked off and disappeared into the group of people. Leia and Han continued to stare in the general direction that she disappeared in. Suddenly, Han realized what she just said right before she left.

"Wait, someone's looking for us?" he repeated, turning to the direction the woman pointed to outside. Han jumped back in fear, finding that it was none other than the girl he and Luke saw Leia and Chewbacca running from earlier.

Leia looked to see what was bothering Han, and screamed. She jumped back with Han. It wasn't just the fact that the girl was there again that had frightened both of them; it was that she stood right in the middle of the heavy rain and hail, with thunder booming and lightning flashing, and merely stared, blank-eyed at the window they were sitting in front of.

With their jump at noticing them, the girl proceeded towards the inn, unblinking eyes fixed on the door to the entrance.


	7. The Warning

Han and Leia stumbled over to Chewbacca. Frantically trying to wake Luke up, Han shook him roughly on the floor. Chewbacca, in the middle of asking what in the blazes Han was doing, started to growl. Leia looked at the door to the inn as it opened.

The Nubian girl walked inside slowly, as if in some trance. Her entire body soaked, perhaps even half frozen, and yet she still walked, undaunted, towards Han and Leia.

It seemed as if the entire inn had frozen at the gilr's appearance. Everyone was staring at the scene before them. People slowly backed off from the girl, but one woman, a pregnant mother, gave a cry.

"Oh, Aaliza!" she shouted. "You're all right!"

The woman began to run towards her child, but the girl made no notice of it. She continued to walk slowly towards Leia, and when the woman crouched down to hug her, the girl merely walked ahead. Terrified, Han grabbed Leia and pulled her back away from the girl. Chewbacca continued to growl, facing the girl.

In the middle of the action, Luke seemed to be stirring. His eyes opened up slowly, and then he jolted up into attention.

"Aaliza, what's wrong?" the mother asked, panic rising in her voice.

Aaliza walked all the way up to Leia and then stopped. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, and Luke sat up, his eyes widening at the scene before him.

"What the blazes...?" he muttered to himself.

Han had his blaster out and ready, but he didn't take aim; this was only a girl, no matter how freakish she was.

Aaliza opened her mouth to speak, and when she did, a typical high-pitched voice of a young girl her age was not heard; instead, it was a low, mature voice, making her seem ten years older than she actually was. "Leia Organa of Alderaan, and Luke Skywalker of Tatooine; I bring a message."

Han's mouth dropped open, as well as the rest of the room's inhabitants.

The girl continued, "A great disturbance has come to Naboo. It is up to you to find the source and exploit it. If you do not, even death itself will flip backwards."

A slight pause, and then Aaliza went on, "Two have been brought back, soon to be three. You must find these three before others do. One has sent this warning with a private message to let you know who this one is. A simple quote is all I bring, and this one hopes that one of you will recognize it: 'Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy.' The one you seek is on this planet, as well as the other. The third will arrive soon if you are not careful. Be quick about your objective, or you will be overcome by ones who have been long gone, and will come back with a vengeance."

At that, the Nubian's eyes rolled to the top of her head, and she fell to the ground unconscious.


	8. Heading Out Into the Weather

**Sorry it took me so long to submit! Here's the next chapter!**

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Her mother cried out and ran over to her fallen child. Luke and Leia merely stared at her.

Han looked outside the windows; the weather was getting worse. Winds had picked up, and to his astonishment, Han saw a gust pick up a cart and sent it flying through a wall into a house. A chorus of screams followed, and the room's attention shifted outside.

A moan was heard, and Aaliza stirred. Frantic, her mother shook her roughly.

Aaliza's eyes popped open, once again having an eerie look to them. Her mother screamed and jumped away. Aaliza stood up, and turned towards the doorway.

"You!" the mother shouted, pointing towards Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca. "This is all your fault! My daughter is like this because of you!"

Aaliza's mother started to run towards them to attack. Luke, Leia, and Han all stood up, but Chewbacca got there first. He grabbed her arms and pulled her away from everyone else. Although he was being firm, Chewie was careful not to hurt the mother, considering her condition.

Han, Luke, and Leia turned their attention towards Aaliza, who had successfully gotten all the way to the door and opened it before anyone panicked.

Everyone in the room ran over to grab her, but by the time they reached the door, it closed in their faces, a definite clicking sound telling them that it locked from the outside.

The inn keeper was extremely distressed. "It couldn't have locked from the outside, there _is_ no lock on the outside!"

Luke was focusing on the door, trying to find a way to unlock it. Leia was trying to open a window to get outside. In the meantime, Han ran over to help Chewbacca with Aaliza's mother.

"Look, lady," Han said to her. "We don't even know your daughter. Leia just saw her following her earlier today and she ran off."

The woman stopped struggling. "Then you don't know what's wrong with her?"

"I don't even know what her message was about." Han admitted.

Gradually, the mother calmed down. Leia had succeeded in opening a window, and called out to the other three.

"Let's go!" she shouted. "That girl's going to get herself killed out in that weather!"

"Well, aren't _we_ going to get ourselves killed in that weather?" Han asked frantically; he didn't want to go out in that mess.

"We have no choice!" Luke ran over to Leia, and motioned for Han and Chewbacca to follow. Chewie let out a exasperated moan. _So much for relaxation._

"Yeah, I know, buddy," Han replied. With the entire room watching them, Chewbacca and Han jumped out of the open window and chased after Luke and Leia, hopping back and forth to avoid giant balls of ice.


	9. The Nightmare

**Well, I got a review that said "The only problem with this fic is the chapters are short." -- All right, I admit it; I DO SHORT CHAPTERS!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!! Whew...now that I got that out of my system, I shall triumph over my failure for behold! I have a long(er...longer!... :) ) chapter right here! Haha! ...um, yeah, well, enjoy!**

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Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca jumped and ran through the ferocious storm as they chased after the Nubian. She was on the other side of the market place, walking stiffly towards the distant swamps.

"This is ridiculous!" Han exclaimed over the howling wind.

"I don't care!" Leia shouted back in defiance. "We're going to get that girl back to the inn!"

Growling along with Chewbacca, Han raced after the others as they caught up on Aaliza. The girl had just reached the outskirts of the city as they started to get into screaming distance of her.

"Aaliza!" Luke shouted out.

He continued to shout her name as they desperately tried to catch up, but she didn't react.

"This is a lost battle, kid!" Han shouted. "We need to find some cover! We can search for the girl after this storm is over!"

Although they wanted to go on, the twins knew Han was right. Dodging the hail, they all ran to the nearest building, which was a small little house at the very outskirts of the city.

Leia reached the door first, and banged hard to get the inhabitants' attention. The door slid open quickly, and a man dragged them in.

Panting, they all collapsed on mats on the floor where people were lying down.

Han shook his head hopelessly. "It's no use; those winds are too strong. I don't even know how the girl hasn't been swept away or hit by the hail."

Luke's panting stopped, and he sat up in a jolt. "Han, that's it! You're a genius!"

Chewie and Leia laughed at the same time.

"Since when was Han a genius?" Leia asked incredulously. Han shot a glare at her.

"Didn't you guys notice it?" Luke asked them as if it was the most obvious question in the galaxy. "Aaliza was never even touched by lightning or hail, and the wind didn't slow her down! She's somehow not being affected by it! Someone is controlling her! She wasn't 'sent', she was controlled! And now whoever took her is taking her back, we have to go back out there!"

"And get ourselves killed?" Han sat up. "Luke, we can't go out in that weather; that girl may be 'immune', but we're not!"

Leia sighed, looking at Luke. "He does have a point."

Luke looked crestfallen, and then lied back down. Han leaned back and rolled over to face away from the others and closed his eyes and drifted off into a nap.

_All around him there was disaster; ruined buildings, dead people, children and adults alike, trashed out homes...nearly everything was demolished. Han looked around, frantically searching for Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca. Suddenly, a great shadow loomed over the sky. Looking up, Han saw Imperial Star Destroyers. Stormtroopers appeared out of nowhere from landing ships, and started capturing the people who were still alive. Han ran to meet them, but he soon realized that he was outnumbered, and ran off into the crowd. Looking for the other three, Han scurried through the panicked people. _

_Just as Han turned a corner, Theed suddenly turned into a chamber on Bespin. Chewbacca stood there screaming and covering his ears, banging things here and there, howling in pain._

_"I'm right here, Chewie!" Han called out, but to no avail; Chewbacca couldn't hear him. _

_Suddenly, everything spun out of control and then when the spinning stopped, Leia was in an Imperial cell, cringing in a corner as a towering black figure stood over her with a torture device. The breathing of Darth Vader was heard._

_Everything swamp out of focus, and then once again came back into being, only to reveal Luke being electrocuted by Emperor Palpatine himself. Luke screamed out in agony, writhing and twitching. Han tried to grab his blaster, but he was suddenly stiff as a board, and couldn't move. Darth Vader stood over him, and then Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca all appeared in front of Han. They lied on the floor, silent and still. Darth Vader's breathing grew louder, almost to a deafening point, and then suddenly..._

Han jumped up, sweating. He looked over to his left to see Chewbacca, Luke, and Leia all sound asleep. Rain crashed against the window and hail could still be heard pounding on the roof. It was a surprise the roof was still in one piece. The howling winds screamed outside and thunder crashed. Lightning flashed through the sky at an unsettling distance.

The storm didn't matter right now, though; Luke, Leia, and Chewie mattered. Han stammered out of the thin blanket that somehow ended up on him- one of them must have put it on him in his sleep- and then walked over to his three friends. Checking on all of them, Han finally managed to convince himself that it was a nightmare.

Trying to figure out why in the blazes he had that nightmare in the first place, Han settled back down on his mat. Lying on his back with his head on his hands, Han thought about the beginning part of the dream. Theed was in ruins. Was it the Imperials? No, it couldn't have been...it didn't look like it was bombed...

Han bolted up.

He scrambled back over to Luke and the others.

"Luke," Han said quietly but urgently, shaking him. "Luke!"

Luke stirred, and his eyes fluttered open. Lazily, he looked over at Han.

"What is it?"

"Kid, I think you were right."

Luke blinked in confusion. "What?"

"About getting the girl as soon as we could. We could lose her now!"

"What are you talking about? I thought you were against that."

"I was, but I had this dream...that doesn't matter right now, we have to get going! I have a bad feeling that this storm isn't going to improve, so we have to leave now!"

"But we don't even have any supplies," Luke commented. "How are we even going to find her by now?"

"We're going to have to try," Han replied. "How long has it been? Do you know?"

Luke looked at his chronometer. "Only one standard hour. Wait a minute...one standard hour?! I only got ten minutes of sleep!"

Han ran over to wake Leia and Chewbacca up as Luke moaned in irritation.

After shaking the other two awake, all four of them proceeded towards the door.

"Where are we going to get supplies?" Luke asked. "We can't get anything here; these people are going to need everything they can get."

"We're just going to have to think of something," Leia replied. "I managed to get the owner of the house's permission to take these mats and blankets," Looking outside, she added, "If it'll do any good."

Han braced himself for the cold wind and rain, and then opened the door. The foursome quickly ran out and closed the door, and then jumped back and forth to avoid the hail. Looking in all directions, they looked for what path the girl might have taken.

"Aaliza was heading that way!" Leia pointed towards a thick area of trees. "We need to go there!"

"That's good!" Han agreed. "At least we'll have the trees for cover!"

At that, they all proceeded towards the dense area of swamp, hoping to find Aaliza soon.


	10. Aaliza is Near

**Okay, here's the next chapter. :) It's a little short, I have to admit, but I'll submit another one very soon! Oh, and please excuse any grammatical errors or anything similar that you may find; I'll fix any problems that may be there, it's just I wrote this at about one forty in the morning. O.O I'm a night owl. :P**

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Luke led the way as they rushed towards the swamp. Hail barely missed him, scratching his cheek, causing warm blood to trickle down his neck.

A few moments later, they all tripped and stumbled into the thick swampy area. Humidity immediately caught them as they breathed in air heavy with water.

Han got up first, followed by Chewbacca. Leia stood up, and shakily assisted Luke. After they all brushed themselves off, they proceeded into the area.

Tall trees lined the area as they ran along, splashing in murky water the whole way. The canopy over them saved them from most of the rain and hail, but an occasional ice ball or giant splash of water would land near them. As they continued to run, they all began to grow tired. Luke started to slow down first, the aches from his confrontation with Palpatine starting to burn. Eventually, Luke stopped running completely and crouched down onto his knees.

Leia stopped beside him and leaned down. "Luke, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Luke panted. "Come on; we have to keep going."

Leia seemed like she was about to protest, but Luke quickly got up and started to run again. Leia and the other two scrambled to keep up with him.

For what seemed like an hour, nothing changed; the surroundings seemed the same, and they saw no one. Luke was about to give up hope when he suddenly sensed Aaliza nearby. He froze, trying to get his bearings. Han, Leia, and Chewbacca all stopped behind him, exchanging looks of confusion and silently communicating as to why Luke had stopped again.

"She's here," Luke said suddenly. "I can feel it."


	11. Mysteries of the Force

There were many mysteries to the Force. Many unknown factors to it. All Luke pretty much knew was there was a light side and a dark side to it, and the Force gave him special abilities. The Force helped Luke out all the time, but never did it throw a curveball like this one.

Luke thought, _What?_

For not only did he sense Aaliza, but he also sensed someone else...a very familiar presence...Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When Luke used to be with Obi-Wan, he would sense a very calming, wise presence. Although it seemed strange, he even sensed sadness in the old man. Now, however, although he couldn't see him, he could tell through the Force that there was a significant difference; the old, wise feeling to him seemed a lot more...'active' was the only word Luke could think of describing it with. Obi-Wan seemed younger through the Force; more flexible, a little inexperienced, even. It was certainly the strangest feeling he ever had sensed through the Force; the two different interpretations he now sensed from Obi-Wan, from now and from Tatooine, seemed to be mixing in a way. Obi-Wan was the wise man he sensed before, but he seemed to have more activeness in himself. He was fresh in spirit, but his spirit also seemed worn down. Luke couldn't even decipher if it really _was_ Old Ben after some time; it seemed to be getting even more odd each moment.

Leia snapped him out of his confusion. "Luke, where is she? You said she's here, unless you sensed it."

"Uh," Luke grabbed back onto reality with a firm fist. "She's this way."

Luke charged in the direction he sensed her. They ran for a couple of minutes and then came to a halt. Aaliza's figure could be seen from the top of a hill, walking towards something. Han led the way this time, and Luke barely managed to follow. The sudden stops and goings were started to tire everyone, and grate on their nerves.

Once they reached the top of the little hill they saw Aaliza on previously, they could see her walking through a very wet and sticky area of the swamp. Leia gave a shudder in disgust as she watched.

The presence Luke sensed before was coming closer. The hairs on the back of Luke's neck stood on end as they walked down the muddy hill. Drops of ice and rain continued to drop from above as the fierce storm continued to grow worse.

To change the subject from the presence that was nagging at Luke, he looked over at Han. "Han, what was this dream you mentioned before?"

"What?" Han jerked and looked over, completely caught off guard.

"That dream," Luke pressed on. "The one that you started to talk about when you wanted us to chase after the girl."

"Oh," Han scratched his head. "Um, well, I'm not really sure what it was. It started out where I see the Empire invading Theed, which looks completely destroyed. Then I run into the crowd to avoid getting captured, and suddenly everything fades out, and I see different ways that you, Chewie, and Leia were tortured. Then, I saw the three of you lying on the ground dead with a giant Darth Vader over all four of us. Do you know what the blazes it was about?"

Luke shrugged. "It could have been just a nightmare."

"I don't know," Han shook his head. "It seemed as if someone was trying to tell me something...for example, the reason why I said we should go was because Theed looked so decrepit from the storm. All of that damage I saw in my dream was from this storm that's going on, and I wasn't sure...well, I don't know..."

Luke frowned. "It couldn't have been anything besides a dream. You're not a Jedi, Han, you couldn't have had a Force-vision."

Han gulped and nodded. "Yeah; what was I thinking?"

Although Han seemed a little distressed, changing the subject seemed to worsen Luke's case. Now Luke was worried about that dream. It _did_ make sense in a way; Theed would be demolished if the storm didn't let up. The Imperials, though? Darth Vader? Luke prayed that Han was just having a nightmare, but some little voice in the back of his head said otherwise.

Sighing, Luke sensed out for Aaliza, realizing that she had stopped walking and was standing in a clearing.

"She's stopped!" he said quietly to the others. "Come on, let's go!"

Leading the way, Luke rushed ahead towards the clearing, and whatever awaited.


	12. A Coruscanti Accent

**Sorry it took so long to update!**

* * *

Han's feet felt like they were dead. They had been running for an entire hour over lumpy hills and through swamp muck. 

Although his feet were killing him, Han's mind was on the dream he had. Luke was right, though; he _was not_ a Jedi. So why did he have that dream? Was it just a dream? It had seemed so real...

Han shrugged it off, following Luke as he charged ahead. _I hope he knows where he's going_, Han thought.

Suddenly, they reached a clearing. Luke froze, followed by Leia and Han crashing into him. All three of them were in the middle of falling when Chewbacca ran them over, and all four of them ended in a big heap.

As Han was trying to get himself out of the tangle of bodies, a hand came down in front of them, and they all ceased their movement. A familiar voice spoke out in a clipped Coruscanti accent.

"Need a hand?"

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**I know, Cliff AND a short chapter...sorry guys! I've been REALLY busy lately, but I'll update as soon as I can!**


	13. The Third Person

**Haha! Here's the next chapter! Faster than you thought it would be, eh? ;)**

* * *

Leia stayed very still after she heard the voice, but it seemed extremely familiar, so she wasn't too panicked. Luke, on the other hand, energetically grabbed the extended hand and was quickly pulled out of the group. Leia saw him freeze and stiffen, causing any relaxation she felt dissipate quickly.

"Luke…?"

Luke reached his hand down for Leia to grab. After Leia was pulled out, Han and Chewbacca managed to pull themselves out without any help. Leia looked at the person who originally offered some help.

The person turned out to be a young human male, probably around Han's age, with reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes. A short beard defined his strong jaw and a mustache brushed over his top lip. The man had a strong build, but he seemed very gentle.

"Are you all right?" he asked them kindly.

"Yes," Luke replied slowly. "How do I know you?"

The man chuckled. "Is it that hard to recognize me? Blast, I must have looked awful when you saw me last…although, I was called 'old fossil' by one of you before…"

At that comment, Leia's mind did a somersault; _Obi-Wan Kenobi!_

"Ben?" Luke exclaimed. Chewbacca also shouted in surprise.

"That's impossible!" Han turned white. "You're dead! Darth Vader killed you! We all saw it with our very own eyes!"

"Yes, I know," Obi-Wan replied with a smile. "I felt myself die, too. Not too painful, though."

"It wasn't…?" Luke started, at least until Leia glared at him. "Um, I mean, er--"

Luke cut himself off as he and Leia noticed Aaliza sitting solemnly and obediently in the back, behind Obi-Wan.

"Aaliza!" Leia shouted. "Obi-Wan, you…you did this to her?"

Obi-Wan shook his sadly. "She found me out here, really. I felt…awful, actually…everything was oddly blurred, my head was certainly feeling like it was going to explode, and for some strange reason, the Force felt a lot more powerful here than I have ever felt it before…it seems…unbalanced, actually…but as for Aaliza, well, she found me here as I stated earlier, and I sensed Luke, so I asked her where I was…she answered, but when I thought of asking her if she could perhaps find you…she suddenly started acting as if I used the Force to influence her…it was…unsettling…quite frankly, I've been trying to get her out of it ever since she delivered the message…I was _hoping_ that she would stay in Theed after she delivered the message, but as you can see, that part went…awry…"

Obi-Wan's eyes seemed a little misty as his voice trailed off. Suddenly, he cursed under his breath. Obi-Wan rushed over to Aaliza, and gently put his hands on her upper arms.

"Aaliza, please," said Obi-Wan desperately. "Go back to your mother in Theed, and snap out of this daze you're in."

He closed his eyes and put his hand to Aaliza's head, and seemed to press down on her forehead. Leia had a strange feeling of invisible waves rolling off of him and washing over her. Was that the Force?

Luke seemed to understand what he was doing, whatever it was, and stood patiently.

A few moments later, Aaliza's eyes seemed to clear, and she took in a small gasp.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked, obviously startled. She jumped up from her sitting spot and looked around. "What happened?"

"Go to Theed, Aaliza," Obi-Wan told her calmly, gently. "She is probably waiting for you. Here--" He handed her a thick piece of cloth. "Keep this over your head, and make a run for the nearest building you can find. From what I can hear, there's quite a nasty storm going on right now."

"Where's my mommy?" She asked timidly. Obi-Wan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "She's safe, wherever she is; that's all I can tell you; perhaps they can tell you where she is."

He motioned towards Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca. Aaliza gazed at them with fearful eyes.

Leia gave her most gentle and calming look. "She's all right, sweetie. She's inside an inn on the other side of the city. She's safe, and I must say, she certainly is very anxious to see you. I wouldn't advise risking trying to get to her from here, though; just do as he says; find the closest building you can and stay in there."

Aaliza took the cloth that Obi-Wan gave her and looked around. Obi-Wan pointed in the direction leading towards Theed, and they all watched her run off. Leia got worried.

"Shouldn't we at least escort her to the building?" she asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head, a new look of worry blossoming on his face. "No, we don't have time; the third one has come."

Han blinked. "What?"

"Didn't you get my message?" asked Obi-Wan. "I assumed you did since Aaliza returned to me."

"What? The message?" Leia was still trying to remember it, let alone figure it out.

"I was trying to give it to you in a coded way at the time, in case anyone else was with you at the time; obviously you didn't understand."

Chewbacca grumbled. _No, we didn't. Perhaps you'd like explaining._

Obi-Wan sighed. "I said in the message, 'Two have been brought back, soon to be three. You must find these three before others do. Be quick about your objective, or you will be overcome by ones who have been long gone, and will come back with a vengeance.' What I meant by that was that two people who were once dead have been brought back to life, and a third person would soon join. I was hoping that we could find the source of the problem before a third person came back, but obviously that part of the plan has gone bad."

"Wait, it's gone 'bad'?" Leia interrupted. "What do you mean by that? How do you know all of this? Who else is back?"

"I sensed someone who was supposed to be dead when I first came back," Obi-Wan explained. "And since I was alive as well, I assumed the pattern would continue to a third person. I had no idea who the person would be, but it seems that the Force is not without a sense of humor."

"Meaning…?" Han pressed on.

"I mean the people that have been brought back. You won't either one of them by appearance, and one of them you don't know at all."

"Are you saying that we _will_ know one of them?" Luke asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. He seemed rushed. Leia raised an eyebrow, making sure he noticed it.

"The third person has just arrived," he went on rapidly. "We have to get there before that person wakes up, or the consequences will most certainly be severe."

Before any other questions could be asked, Obi-Wan took off. Grumbling under her breath, Leia and the others chased after him. _We certainly seem to be doing a lot of running today; we just defeated the blasted Empire, can we ever get a break?_ She thought irritably.

For almost ten minutes, they chased Obi-Wan through the swamp until Obi-Wan came to an abrupt halt. Luke and the others managed to stop before running into him so they wouldn't go tumbling again. Leia cautiously walked around Obi-Wan's shoulder to see what he was watching so closely.

On the ground in front of them, a young man lied down on the ground, wearing a black tunic very similar to the sand colored tunic Obi-Wan wore. A black glove covered the man's right hand, and a lightsaber hung ominously on a brown belt. The man's sandy brown wavy hair had a somewhat roguish look to it, and a scare seared its way down his right eye, and he seemed sprawled out as if he was just thrown there. For some reason the man seemed strangely…well, he looked…

Leia choked on the thought that was in her mind. She was in love with Han; well, she wasn't married. Just because she was in love with Han didn't mean she could have a nice fantasy, for the thought in her mind was simply…well…that man was…_gorgeous!_

* * *

**Longer than normal thankfully...**


	14. Anakin Skywalker

Obi-Wan watched Anakin very closely, making sure that he was still unconscious before he even dared thinking about getting near him. After finding out through the Force that Anakin wasn't awake, he began to walk down to his former Padawan. Luke and the others followed behind him silently.

Anakin Skywalker's eyes twitched, and Obi-Wan froze. Taking a deep breath, Anakin seemed to be trying to wake up. _Stubborn as ever,_ Obi-Wan thought. _This isn't a good time for your stubbornness, Anakin; please stay asleep!_ But Anakin obviously didn't want to stay asleep, for he started to stir. Focusing all of his energy on it, Obi-Wan sent out soothing waves in the Force to calm him down and put him back to sleep. Anakin seemed to receive them, and settled down.

Wasting no time, Obi-Wan rushed over to him and started to pick him up. Unfortunately, he was interrupted once more; except this time, it was from Luke.

"Ben," he said slowly, perhaps even in a panicked fashion. "Who is this guy?"

Obi-Wan frowned. "Luke, let's get him out of here first; then you can ask as many questions as you desire."

Luke was quiet after that, and Obi-Wan proceeded with picking Anakin up. After having him securely in his arms, Obi-Wan started to head back towards Theed.

"Where are we going now?" Han blurted out loudly. Anakin twitched. Obi-Wan focused on calming him down through the Force again, but this time Anakin fought back. His eyes began twitching again, and this time they started to flutter. Anakin groaned and shifted in Obi-Wan's arms. Everyone froze.

Anakin's eyes opened.

Automatically, Obi-Wan braced himself to get ready to defend, and it was a good thing he did; Anakin jumped out of his arms and aimed a high kick at his jaw. Obi-Wan made to grab his foot, but Anakin brought it down sharply and settled for bringing his heel on Obi-Wan's foot. Obi-Wan groaned painfully, but he had most certainly felt worse.

Anakin headed towards Han. Han jumped back and grabbed his blaster, taking aim. He shot off once, twice, three times, and hit air the whole time. Anakin was too fast for him, and he quickly got into attacking range.

Han shouted as Anakin gave a kick into his gut so powerful it folded him completely in half, sending him flying. Leia reached for her blaster, but by then, Obi-Wan had rushed towards Anakin.

Leia, Chewbacca, and Luke had blasters out, aiming at Anakin as Obi-Wan rushed up behind him. Once he got into attacking range, the two went into a dance of combat, aiming chops, kicks, and punches at each other in precise motions, each reading each other's weaknesses and strengths. Their speed began to increase, and Obi-Wan finally managed to lay a kick on Anakin squarely in the chest. He fell over and landed with a hard thump on the ground.

Just as he was getting back up, Obi-Wan pinned him down and put his hand to Anakin's forehead, once again sending soothing waves through the Force. He willed him to go to sleep. _Come on, Anakin, sleep…_

_No…_

Obi-Wan heard the reply defiantly in his head, but it was also very weak; and panicked.

Continuing to influence relaxation on him, Obi-Wan motioned with his other hand for Han, Chewie, Luke, and Leia to stand down.

A few moments passed where Anakin fought ferociously to get out of Obi-Wan's grasp, but eventually he began to calm down. About a minute or two later, he was asleep once more.

Han blew out a deep breath as he got up. "What in the blazes was that?"

"That was your idiocy showing," Obi-Wan snapped irritably. "Perhaps you'd like to take notice that speaking loudly while someone is asleep is not exactly tactful."

"How was I supposed to know he was dangerous?" Han said defensively. "That blasted man tried to kill us! Why are we even taking him with us?"

"I think _where_ are we going with him would be a more appropriate question, Han," Leia corrected.

Obi-Wan sighed as he began the process of lifting Anakin up without rousing him all over again. "As I said to Luke, once we get this man out of here, you all can ask all the questions you desire."

Silence followed his last statement, and after picking Anakin up, Obi-Wan led their silent procession towards Theed. Hail and rain could still be heard pounding the top layer of branches and leaves.

About two hours passed before they finally reached the edge of the swamp. The capitol city could barely be seen through the storm, but lights from buildings shone through. Obi-Wan jogged his way through with the others following, doing his best to make sure Anakin didn't get hit or splashed too much.

They all finally reached the first building that was closest to their location, and entered. A young couple inside quickly rushed over to them with blankets. They seemed to recognize Luke and his fellow Rebels.

"You're all right!" The Nubian woman said gratefully. Anakin began to stir again.

"We were so worried you wouldn't survive through that storm!" Her husband continued. "Especially when little Aaliza came along, saying that you were still out there! Oh, come in, please, take some blankets. We just served some hot soup if you're interested."

Han looked grateful, but cast a wary eye in Anakin's direction, watching him stir.

"Star's end," Obi-Wan cursed as Anakin squirmed in his arms. Obi-Wan set him gently down on the ground. The woman noticed, and quickly grabbed a blanket to cover him.

"Is he all right?" she asked Obi-Wan uncertainly. Obi-Wan merely nodded in reply, trying to keep Anakin asleep.

Luke walked over with two hot bowls of soup, handing one over to Obi-Wan. The two of them sat down together and ate, silently watching the young Jedi.

Luke was the first to break the silence after they were joined by the others. "Ben; who is this man?"

Obi-Wan took a very deep breath. "Does he seem familiar to you?"

Luke nodded. "Very,"

Leia seemed to agree. Chewbacca did as well, but Han was completely clueless.

"It might be better if you try and figure out who he is," Obi-Wan whispered. "Just to be safe,"

"But Obi-Wan," Leia protested. "We don't know a thing about this man."

Obi-Wan held up his hand for silence. "Ask anything else."

Han sighed. "Sure; you said that a _third_ person came back to life. Well, this is the _third_ person; where is the second?"

"She is in another building," Obi-Wan answered. "She's safe,"

Leia raised an eyebrow. "She?"

Before anyone could respond, Anakin moaned, rubbing his head. Han automatically reached for his blaster, but Obi-Wan grabbed his wrist. Anakin's eyes fluttered open slowly, and Obi-Wan put a reassuring hand on him.

"It's all right," he said hastily before the young man could react. "I'm not going to hurt you; no one is. Just relax,"

Weary eyes examined all of them; apparently, after his initial outburst, Anakin's exhaustion started to take hold of him.

Chewbacca gave an incredulous growl. _He was scared before? That was FEAR?_

Obi-Wan nodded. "Fear can cause many things, especially irrational reactions."

"Oh, wonderful," Han said sarcastically. Then, he looked down at Anakin. "What's your name?"

Anakin's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What…is…your…name?" Han repeated slowly, articulating every word.

Unfortunately, Anakin fell back asleep before Han even finished the last word. Chewbacca growled in irritation, putting his large hands to his head. Luke and Leia had looks of exasperation, and they all looked desperately at Obi-Wan.

Kenobi sighed. He gave a little shake to Anakin. Another twitch was the reply, and then the same blue eyes fluttered open again. Leia didn't take her eyes off of his.

"Who are you?" Luke tried. "What's your name?"

"Well, why do you want to know?" Anakin countered.

Han looked offended. "Hey, pal, listen here--"

"Answer the question," Obi-Wan said calmly, cutting Han off.

"Anakin…my name is Anakin," he replied. "But you should already know that,"

"We should _what?_" Han blurted out.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Solo, you never were one for brains."

As Obi-Wan did his very best to camouflage his laugh for a cough, Han's eyes widened; Luke's, Leia's, and Chewbacca's did as well.

"F…Father?!" Luke shouted. Obi-Wan and Anakin flinched in unison as pretty much the entire room turned to stare.

"Just tell the whole world…" Anakin muttered before starting into a burst of Huttese, choosing colorful terms. _"Na chubba danaya,"_

"Anakin," Obi-Wan reprimanded. Anakin gave a weary shrug as Obi-Wan put his hand on his forehead. "Go back to sleep."

His former Padawan did as he was told rather quickly as Obi-Wan checked his temperature; he was burning up. Shaking his head and sighing, the Jedi Master walked off to get him some water.


	15. Unstable

**This chapter might seem like a filler, but it pretty much just explain everyone's point of view so far, and then there's a bit of fluff...**

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Blurs and sounds, figures and shapes…everything was really starting to get confusing him…his head hurt too…why did these problems always hit him?

Anakin moaned as he looked around. Giving up on any visual contact whatsoever, he closed his eyes and delved into the Force. For Anakin, the past twenty-three years as Darth Vader included solitude in the Force, sensing no one else but Palpatine, and goodness knows that _he_ certainly isn't a relaxing presence to sense…but now, he sensed Luke, Leia, and Obi-Wan…although Leia had absolutely no idea that she let off a noticeable Force signature…

Suddenly, he sensed Obi-Wan walking towards him and crouching over him. Every muscle in his body tensed up; he didn't want to be caught off guard.

Feeling around the room, Anakin sensed Han was watching him with his trigger finger itching. Luke was watching him solemnly, but inside he was jumping for joy…Anakin almost rolled his eyes in exasperation…_Luke, why are you excited that I'm here?_ That boy always was happy about him, even if he was about to _kill_ him…Leia, on the other hand, had a similar disposition to Solo…and…was that surprise? Fear? Or…no, wait…Leia was angry at _herself_…and, embarrassed…

Now Anakin _was_ confused.

Why the blazes is _she_ of all people embarrassed? The Alderaanian princess always held herself high with dignity and was always controlling her emotions, a typical thing for a politician to do. Loathing filled Anakin as he thought about politicians…he _despised_ politicians…

Apparently Obi-Wan sensed his hatred increase, for he paused a moment as he got close to him…what was that Jedi up to?

Anakin's mind wandered around the room, and then just wandered into the Force itself…he might as well meditate, he's got nothing better to do…

A gentle hand placed itself on the back of his neck, bringing his head up. Cold liquid trickled into his mouth and down his throat; Obi-Wan was giving him some water.

Foolishly, Anakin opened his eyes again expecting to see himself in a trench somewhere with the sound of people screaming, bombs exploding, and blasters being shot off, but of course, he just saw Obi-Wan leaning over him with a worried expression and saw the background of a small house that was currently being used as a shelter. Anakin closed his eyes quickly, not wanting any of them to notice. He felt like an idiot; why the blazes did he imagine himself back in the Clone Wars?

The gentle hand put his head back down on the mat. Still seething over his stupidity, Anakin remained still, battling with his choking anger; it certainly did seem to get out of line a lot more since he was a Sith Lord before…what, what did he mean by _before_?

_Oh, wonderful,_ Anakin thought. _I'm going to become some great Jedi who's perfect, always good, just like the Council wanted me to be…_

Whoops; wrong thought. Even mentioning the Council in his head heated up his ire again. Yoda, Windu…all of them…

A low growl rumbled in Anakin's throat…oh, how he _hated_ the Jedi Council; and Obi-Wan Kenobi was on it…

…

Obi-Wan sensed Anakin's conflict through the Force and sighed; he certainly was _extremely_ unstable. Obi-Wan was treading a fine line with Anakin; on one side there was Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight who was currently very lost and confused, and on the other side, there was Darth Vader, a Sith Lord who was just _dying_ to tear Obi-Wan to shreds.

Slowly getting back up to get more water, Obi-Wan sent more soothing waves through the Force; Anakin needed all the rest he could get, and it might just help his temper too…

…

Leia felt embarrassed, ridiculous, shocked, and angry at the same time, and most of the emotions weren't even aimed at Vader; they were aimed at her.

How could she possibly…? She thought he was…the very remembrance of what she thought about him made her feel sick to her stomach. Leia wanted to lie down, go to sleep, and wake up on Alderaan, just a daughter to Bail Organa; at least then there were no problems. No war, no personal contact with Darth Vader, at least between her and him, and no thoughts about nice looking men.

Leia shuddered…she thought he was _gorgeous_; the scary thing was that she _still_ thought he was gorgeous…just in a different way…she certainly didn't have any crush on him; he was Darth Vader, as well as her…

Leia couldn't even finish the next word. She had no idea why he looked the way he did, but she certainly wasn't going to buy into it…

…

Luke Skywalker on the other hand was in a current state of ecstasy. He was watching his father right now, taking care of him, making sure he was all right…and _Obi-Wan_ was there too!

Judging by his appearance, Luke would roughly estimate that Anakin Skywalker was in his twenties, perhaps even around Luke's age! It was a little odd to think that his father was _his age_, but it was also somewhat nice; it was almost like having him as…well, a brother…

Luke shook his head and smiled. No matter what age Anakin was, he was still his father, and Luke loved him dearly. He put his hand on Anakin's forehead and frowned; no wonder Ben had gotten some water…his father had a fever…

…

Han Solo was itching to take his blaster out. He was currently staring at a sleeping form of Darth Vader, the same creature that tortured him and put him into carbonite just to get _Luke_. Han took it as a personal insult to his pride that Vader was only using him as _bait_ to catch more important prey, not to mention that prey was his friend, Luke.

And something was wrong with Luke, too; he shouted out 'father' when Vader revealed himself. Another thing was that Vader called himself 'Anakin', and Han had no idea why he had done that either. He seemed to be the last to figure things out lately…for goodness sake; even _Chewbacca_ seemed to know more than he did, and most of the time they were both equally informed on things.

Strangely enough, the name Anakin did seem familiar in a way…

…

Chewbacca watched Darth Vader very closely, but he felt no contempt in him right now. The man said he was _Anakin_, and then _Luke_ just shouted out the word 'father' which definitely put a connection between them. It was unsettling at the least; Anakin Skywalker had been dead, or at least Chewie thought he had been.

He knew Anakin Skywalker from the Clone Wars; General Skywalker and General Kenobi were pretty much the Jedi Hammer as HoloNet reporters put it. Together, the two of them could beat anybody who stood in their way. Though Chewbacca wasn't a youngling during the Clone Wars, he had the younglings' mentality that when those two got into a campaign, the Seps were in for it.

So now, Chewbacca looked at the same man who was a hero in the Clone Wars, and was happy to see him. It was a little odd, though, since now that Chewie had met him in person, he smelled something familiar…

To a Wookiee, everyone had their own distinct smell that put them apart from every other person in the galaxy, and then there would be smells on them as to where they've been. Darth Vader always had the smell of burnt flesh, ozone, sand, and his distinctive smell. Now, Chewie smelled that same distinctive smell on Anakin, and it was making him uneasy. However, Chewbacca brushed it aside and concerned himself with how he could help the Clone Wars veteran…

…

_As explosions lit up the sky, a Human soldier made his way over to him. _

_"Sir!" he shouted over the noise. "The Separatists are gaining more ground!"_

_Anakin Skywalker heaved a heavy sigh. "Let them; just keep the fallout line ready."_

_The soldier nodded and then saluted before departing. Anakin held his lightsaber firmly in his hand. He was dying to go out there onto the battlefield, but he had to hold his ground until the Seps had breached a certain point in the perimeter._

_Just five more meters…_

_A chorus of screams was heard as a tank blew up in the front lines…_

_Four meters…_

_Men and women fell as blaster bolt explosions erupted all over them…_

_Three meters…_

_A medic just brought in someone with their guts almost spilling over them…_

_Two meters…_

_Obi-Wan Kenobi grabbed his lightsaber and braced himself…_

_One meter…_

_Anakin and Obi-Wan crouched in unison, preparing…_

_  
Now._

_The two Jedi jumped out from their spots and led the retaliation group, their lightsabers ignited. Charging forward, Anakin gave himself up to the dance of the battle, letting the Force flow through him._

_Droids and troopers alike were taken down swiftly as the Republic troops cut their way through the Separatist lines. Anakin had made some coverage when more Sep troops came. Obi-Wan deflected a blasterbolt beside Anakin. _

_"Anakin!" he shouted. "Dispatch a small group and take the around the main force! We have to hit their supply line or they'll have us defeated by dawn!"_

_Anakin gave a nod and took twenty troops with him as they slinked out of the battlefront. Those Seps were in for it now…Anakin smiled. _

_Suddenly, everything turned red. It was almost as if Anakin was looking through lenses covered in blood. A burning sensation erupted in his chest, and he almost screamed out in pain. Very loud breathing could be heard…he felt air being pumped into his lungs…was that him breathing? _

_Another trooper, the _same_ trooper as just before came up to him in different armor. He looked older, and had battle scars on his face. _

_"Lord Vader," he said crisply. "The Rebel base has fallen."_

_"Good," Anakin rumbled. Was that voice his? "I want those Rebels dead."_

_The trooper saluted. "Yes, sir,"_

_Through the red screens, Anakin could see troopers storming into a bunker, and then blaster fire followed. What was going on? Anakin was confused, and yet at the same time, he felt oddly…content. This was certainly the strangest feeling he ever felt…_

"Anakin?"

Anakin opened his eyes, realizing it was all a dream. Sweat beaded his forehead. _It's all right,_ he told himself, trying to relax. _It was just a dream…_

He didn't like that dream. He started off in the Clone Wars, and then suddenly it all violently shifted to the Galactic Civil War. He _hated_ that feeling…he felt free in the Clone Wars…at least he had his own limbs and healthy lungs…

Obi-Wan was watching him. The room seemed…darker. Was Anakin's vision impaired, or had some time passed since he was awake? Anakin looked around the room; still blurry. Growling, he closed his eyes and sensed his way through. Luke, Leia, and Han were asleep, but Chewbacca and Obi-Wan were awake. Everyone else in the house was asleep as well.

A hand stroked his forehead. Was that Obi-Wan?

"Anakin, how are you feeling?"

Yep; definitely Obi-Wan.

"Fine," he mumbled.

The stroking stopped, but the hand remained.

"How are you feeling?" Kenobi asked again.

Anakin sighed again; why did Obi-Wan always have to see through his lies?

"Sick," he said, irritated.

"How sick?" Obi-Wan pressed on.

_"Chubba china no bata slimo,"_ Anakin went into a fresh burst of Huttese.

"Anakin," came the scolding tone.

"I've got a headache," Anakin replied coldly. "Everything's spinning. Happy?"

"Quite,"

Rolling his eyes, Anakin turned on his side and fell asleep once more…


	16. Anakin's Panic

_A crystal clear waterfall fell over Obi-Wan Kenobi as he meditated. He felt Qui-Gon Jinn's presence beside him. Master Yoda, Master Mace Windu, Siri Tachi, all of the other Jedi…and then, one by one, they were gone._

_Qui-Gon went first, just dissolving into the waterfall. After that, the waterfall began to get polluted, even infested. Muck and grime floated in the water, making it harder to see. Anakin Skywalker appeared beside Obi-Wan; he meditated in the water, but he had a bit of that muck on him. Obi-Wan leaned over to brush it off, but it only multiplied and began to cover Anakin. Panicking, Obi-Wan splashed water on Anakin and wiped as much as he could off, but to no avail; Anakin was still covered in it. _

_Then, Palpatine came walking up; it almost looked as if he was made from that disgusting infestation. Wherever he walked in the water, it followed him. He walked up to Anakin and offered a kind hand. Curious, Anakin took it and stood up. Obi-Wan tried to call out to stop him, but nothing came out of his mouth. Anakin looked back at the other Jedi suddenly with hate in his blue eyes. The Jedi all disappeared into the waterfall, and the water became even more polluted, until only Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Palpatine were left. _

_After a while, Obi-Wan felt himself fading, and then he watched from above the waterfall. The water was black now…_

_Yoda disappeared. Anakin and Palpatine were all that was left. _

_Eventually, even Palpatine disappeared; then, it was just Anakin. Luke Skywalker walked out of the waterfall, the only clean-looking thing in the area. He held out his hand to Anakin, and Anakin watched him warily for a few moments before taking the hand._

_The moment he took Luke's hand, the grim slid off of him, and then he smiled and disappeared. The water began to clear!_

_By the time the water was cleaner, Anakin had joined Obi-Wan in watching above. Obi-Wan ran over to embrace his son, his brother, but then…_

_Obi-Wan fell._

_Obi-Wan fell back into the water, causing the water to splash and slush around, almost sending Luke flying. The water became disrupted; unbalanced. A woman fell in after him, causing the water to splash around even more. Then, Anakin fell. Obi-Wan was picking himself up when he saw another figure beginning to fall…was that?_

Obi-Wan's eyes opened.

Panting, he looked around the room. Besides the storm causing a raucous outside, everything was quiet; at least, until Anakin gasped and woke up.

Obi-Wan rushed over to him to calm him down.

"Obi-Wan," he said quickly. "Obi-Wan, he's…he's…"

Obi-Wan cast a worried glance out the window once more before looking back at the panicked Jedi.

"Anakin, what is it?" Obi-Wan asked him silently.

"Obi-Wan, he's back," Anakin said, his voice rising.

"I know," the Jedi Master replied. "I sense it too."

"But…b-but—" Anakin went on.

"Anakin, it's all right," Obi-Wan cooed. "He doesn't know we're here."

Anakin threw a terrified look out the window. "He knows; I can feel it."

"Does he know where we are?"

Anakin put is hands to his head and groaned. "I don't know; I don't know anything! Obi-Wan, I don't want him back, not him, _anybody_ but him…"

Obi-Wan pulled Anakin into a hug. "Anakin, relax,"

Anakin stayed tense, but Obi-Wan sensed him trying to calm down. Suddenly, the storm gave a roar of thunder so loud it made the house vibrate and woke all of the inhabitants.

Han jumped up and grabbed his blaster. "What was that?"

Anakin jumped out of Obi-Wan's grip, getting up. Obi-Wan quickly tried to restrain him, but Anakin had already rushed over to the window. Chewbacca rushed over to Anakin.

Anakin began backing off from the window slowly, shaking his head with his eyes wide.

"He's in the swamp," he said to no one in particular. "He's coming…oh, he's coming…"

Anakin moaned and crouched down, putting his hands on his head. Leia and Han exchanged looks of confusion, while Luke became worried.

"Father?" he asked him. Anakin didn't respond. Luke looked at Obi-Wan. "Ben, what's wrong with him?"

Obi-Wan merely shook his head. "I'm sorry, Luke, but I can't say. If Anakin won't tell you, than I won't either."

Chewbacca's fur stood on end, and he growled. _Something's wrong._

Anakin moaned again, and Obi-Wan sighed. "Yes, Chewbacca, something is very wrong indeed…"

* * *

**Yeah, I know; a cliffie. I'll update as soon as I can!**


	17. Anakin's Darker Side

**Warning! Incoming short chapter! **

**Warning Warning! DO NOT SKIP CHAPTER BECAUSE OF ITS LENGTH! VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER!**

* * *

Anakin Skywalker held his head in fear as he sensed a very familiar presence call out to him…

_Lord Vader…_

This brought another moan out of Anakin. He didn't want _him_ to come. Why was he even back?

_Come come now, Skywalker…_ a voice in the back of Anakin's head whispered. _Why are you so worried about him? This is your chance, you can have it all back…take your revenge, Skywalker, and just let me do the dirty work…_

_No…_Anakin moaned in his head; he was feeling dizzy…that voice was really beginning to sound welcoming…

_Let me do the dirty work, and you can rake in the rewards, Skywalker…_

_I'm not letting you take over again!_

_Oh, are you still thinking about that? What about your son?_

_Luke?_

_Oh, yes, Skywalker; Luke._

_What about him?_

_With him back, Luke is in danger…_

_Where are you going with this?_

_You know exactly where I'm going…_

Fear flooded Anakin. This was getting just as bad as when he first turned…Vader was right, though; Luke was in danger. Everything was spinning…his head felt like it was going to explode…

_You know what to do, Skywalker…_

Anakin heard footsteps; somebody was walking towards him.

"Anakin?" That was Obi-Wan's voice…

_Don't get your hopes up about Kenobi…he abandoned you last time…look what he did to you on Mustafar!_

Anakin couldn't give a response for that…for some reason he seemed to have lost his voice…

_That man won't help you. He doesn't want to help you; he only cares for himself! He took your wife from you, Skywalker; he put you in that suit! He wasn't there when you needed him the most, and then when he did come back, he tried to kill you…_

_I was a Sith Lord…_Anakin tried to reason out. _He had to do it…_

_If _he_ was a Sith Lord, would _you_ kill him?_

Tears began to appear in his eyes. _No, I wouldn't…_

_And yet he still tried to kill you…and even worse, when you were burning on the lava bank, it would have been _merciful_ to kill you…and what did he do, Skywalker?_

_He left me to burn!_ Anakin responded, hatred boiling in him.

_Yes, he did…_

Anakin let his hatred come out; he let it spread throughout his entire body, let it power him. He smiled. _Oh, yes…_

Darth Vader opened his eyes. He lowered his hand from his head and put them on the floor, picking himself up. Standing up straight but keeping his head down, Vader walked towards the door, Obi-Wan trying to reach a hand out to stop him. Vader caught his hand and gave his whole arm a twist, flipping Obi-Wan down on the ground.

"Father!" Luke shouted, trying to get to him. Vader merely walked on, opening the door out to the storm and closing it behind him.

_Ready or not Palpatine; here I come… _


	18. The Trick

Obi-Wan rubbed his back as he got up from the ground. The door to the inn hissed shut, and the whole room stared at him. Luke ran over.

"Ben, are you all right?" he asked him. Obi-Wan nodded, and then Luke continued, "What's wrong with him?"

Obi-Wan went into the Force, trying to find Anakin. Expecting to find Darth Vader and have his heart turn to ash once more, Obi-Wan braced himself.

When he found his Force signature, though, he certainly didn't expect _that_.

Was that _Anakin_?

Obi-Wan called to him. He waited...

Anakin responded.

Obi-Wan's arm ached. Talking into his mind, Obi-Wan grumbled, _"What the blazes was that about?"_

"_Sorry, Master Kenobi. I have to act, you know."_

"_What?"_

"_I'm going to find him. I have to find him."_

"_Palpatine?"_

"_Yes."_

Obi-Wan was worried._ "Anakin, he's going to kill you!"_

_A pause. "Not if he thinks I'm still his faithful servant."_

"_You can't be serious," _Obi-Wan replied._ "He's _bound_ to remember that _you_ killed him."_

Anakin giggled._ "Palpatine looks over things easily after the person is punished for it."_

"_Punished?!" _Obi-Wan exclaimed in his head._ "Anakin, no! You—"_

"_I have no choice," _Anakin interrupted._ "Master Kenobi, let _me_ do this, will you?"_

"_But—"_

"_Master Kenobi, I think I know my former Master a little more than you do,"_

Obi-Wan flinched._ "All right; just please be careful."_

"_I will. And one more thing."_

"_What?"_

"_Don't tell anyone else; nobody else can disguise their emotions like you can,"_

In his head, Obi-Wan saw Anakin show himself through the Force. He gave a wink and then put his finger to his mouth. Then, he disappeared.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. Mostly everyone else went to looking outside, but Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie were watching him.

"Anakin has..." Obi-Wan tried to explain; Luke wouldn't like this... "Anakin has..."

Obi-Wan shook his head and put his face in his hands before continuing. "Darth Vader is back."

He knew it would come, but he still didn't like the feeling of it. Through the Force, Luke felt like everything he had been hoping for had just been shattered before him. Leia and Han almost acted as if they were expecting it, and Chewbacca showed surprise.

_Anakin, you'd better be careful_, Obi-Wan thought. Sadness filled him as he recalled their conversation; Anakin never addressed him by his first name, or even called him the age-old title 'master' like he used to...

* * *

Darth Vader almost bounced as he walked along. He was a little freaked initially over Palpatine, but even talking to Obi-Wan made him feel better. Inside, Anakin Skywalker was smiling and giving a smug look to a very irritated, almost-triumphant Darth Vader; on the outside, Darth Vader was making his way towards his Master, Darth Sidious.

Vader made it into the swamps, trudging through the muck. That storm was far worse than it was earlier...probably because of Palpatine...Vader rolled his eyes, which were currently a soft blue. Amazing how three people could cause the weather to go amuck.

Something odd had been bugging him, though; Vader had the feeling that he, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine weren't the only ones back, but that might just be him getting a little jumpy over walking right up to the man he had killed on the second Death Star.

He sensed him before he saw him, but he still jumped. Making sure his eyes were a shade of red and orange before walking over a small hill where Sidious waited, Darth Vader proceeded cautiously...

* * *

The whole galaxy seemed to fall apart as Luke sat down slowly. His father...no, he couldn't be that monster again...not _again_...

Luke didn't know what to do...everything had seemed so..._perfect_...now, he finds out that Anakin Skywalker has once more become Darth Vader...Luke would rather just have a normal visit on Naboo without his father being alive.

Why didn't they _ever_ have a normal day? Luke put his face in his hands and wept...

* * *

Obi-Wan felt awful having to tell Luke that when it wasn't even true. Now Luke was weeping, Anakin might be half dead by now, and Obi-Wan felt helpless to all of it.

No...Obi-Wan was not going to be helpless again...he wasn't there when Anakin needed him last time...he _would_ be there to help this time.

Obi-Wan stood up and walked towards the door. Leia ran over to him.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I'm going to help Anakin," Obi-Wan replied; hopefully, no one would catch the clue...

Luke's face popped up, tear tracks on his cheeks. Han helped him up as he ran over.

"You mean he might still have a chance?" Luke looked at him desperately.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Luke, I gave up on him the first time he did it; are you going to give up on him now?"

Luke gave a stubborn look. "No."

Smiling, Obi-Wan nodded. "You're your father's son all right."

* * *

**Haha! I had you fooled in that last chapter, didn't I:-D**


	19. Vader or Anakin?

**I'm so so so so so sorry about the wait, and I'm really REALLY sorry that this is a short chapter AND ends with a somewhat cliffie. But I promise to update before the end of the week; I can't update for about three days on anything because I'll be out of town, but when I get back, I WILL give you guys a better chapter, I just HAD to write something before I left...again, I am SO sorry!!**

* * *

Luke followed Obi-Wan with his hope restored; Obi-Wan was right; there was always a chance to save Anakin. Why did he turn again? It certainly seemed sudden...

That's when Luke realized it.

Anakin was faking! Something obviously had him panicked, and so he was pretending to be Darth Vader so that he could get away from everyone to find the problem...or at least something like that. Luke felt sorry for Obi-Wan; he probably felt horrible thinking that Darth Vader was back. _Should I tell him that he's not Darth Vader after all?_ Luke was planning to, but thought better of it. He couldn't tell Obi-Wan without Leia, Han, or Chewbacca finding out, and obviously Anakin didn't want anyone to know. Looked like Luke would be the only one to know the truth...

* * *

Obi-Wan sighed as he rushed ahead of the other four. He felt so sorry for Luke, making him think that Darth Vader was back. Anakin certainly had Obi-Wan convinced until they spoke in their mental conversation. Through the Force, Obi-Wan suddenly felt Anakin screaming out in pain. Palpatine...Obi-Wan increased his speed, trying to get there as fast as he could; he didn't care if Anakin had a plan or not, he was _not_ letting him anywhere near Palpatine without being there to help him out...

* * *

Han certainly wasn't surprised by Anakin's sudden change of heart, but it was odd that he played a good guy in the first place. Was he even pretending? Confusion filled Han as he ran his legs off to keep up with Obi-Wan. _He certainly isn't an old fossil anymore..._Han thought bitterly. Considering the young man's speed capability, Han preferred him when he was older. Still, he like having him close to his age...he could at least look at him as somewhat of an equal instead of some old man giving him speeches...

A scream interrupted everyone's thoughts as they reached the edge of the forest, finally safe from the raging storm. A man's scream...was that Vader?!


	20. Rescue

**I'm back! Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Obi-Wan led the group in a full out charge towards the source of the screams. As they grew closure, lights flashed around, almost as if there was lightning from the storm right inside the forest...wait, what if there _was_ lightning in the forest?

_Palpatine!_ Luke realized. Luke almost rushed ahead until Obi-Wan stopped him. He slowly started to creep up a small hill, motioning for them to follow slowly. Luke peeked over and saw Palpatine, wearing the same black cloak he wore on the second Death Star, torturing Anakin. It was almost as if Luke was re-watching the scene up in Death Star II when Palpatine was electrocuting _him_ and _Anakin_ was watching, except now it was reversed.

Palpatine stopped electrocuting Anakin, who was twitching horribly. He slowly walked towards him, laughing cruelly.

"You need a lesson, Lord Vader," he purred menacingly. Stretching out his hand, Luke expected to see lightning bolts come out and shock Anakin again. Instead, Palpatine leaned down towards Anakin (who was trying very hard to back away) and placed his fingertips on Anakin's forehead. Anakin's eyes went unfocused, and the twosome stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Palpatine suddenly jerked away and Anakin screamed out.

"What in the blazes is he doing?" Han whispered.

"He's bringing up Anakin's worst memories through the Force and making him relive them," Obi-Wan responded in disgust.

Leia seemed to be conflicting with herself, but she managed to say, "Well, shouldn't we do something? I don't like Vader, but I won't sink to his level to watch this happen to him. Besides, I'm getting chills."

Obi-Wan nodded. "That's the Dark Side you're sensing."

Han rolled his eyes. "Let's rescue him now and worry about lectures for your special Force later."

Obi-Wan looked like he was tempted to reply to Han, but he restrained himself. Adjusting his footing as Anakin let out another scream of pain, and yelling "Padmé!", Obi-Wan gathered the Force around himself. Luke sensed it emanating from him, and felt completely relaxed, and a little surprised. It was nice to feel Obi-Wan calling upon the Force again like he did three years earlier on the first Death Star, but this energy seemed younger and far more powerful, almost as if he had worn himself out last time, or he didn't exactly care...perhaps it was something different...

...it was very different for Obi-Wan. On the first Death Star, Obi-Wan had sensed that he merely had to get Luke and the others out, but he would not leave. Now, he had a sense of purpose that he hadn't had since the Clone Wars. Anakin was in serious trouble, and Obi-Wan was coming to the rescue. A smile crossed his lips as he recalled their many rescue missions, which never exactly had much planning to them; rather like now.

Calling on the Force, Obi-Wan jumped, carrying himself directly between Anakin and Palpatine, and ignited his lightsaber. Palpatine, who was obviously very preoccupied in Anakin, looked somewhat caught off guard, but he quickly recovered. Just before he was about to react, though, Luke joined Obi-Wan, landing right beside him. Han and Chewbacca stood up and aimed their blasters at Palpatine, Leia beside them.

Palpatine laughed. "Do you honestly think that you have a chance? I've faced _you_ before, Skywalker; you can be easily overrun. Kenobi is weaker than Vader, and you three aren't even of any concern to me."

Palpatine's comment enraged Han and Chewbacca, but everyone's attention quickly turned to Anakin as he tried to get himself up off the ground...

A hatred like no other that Leia had ever seen burned in Vader's eyes. Oddly enough, it was aimed at _Palpatine_, whom Vader always faithfully served...what was going _on_ here?!

Han took the opportunity to aim a blaster bolt at Palpatine, but the Emperor quickly held up his hand and, well, _absorbed_ it; it looked just like when Vader had blocked the blaster bolts Han shot on Bespin. Obi-Wan seemed more interesting in Anakin than Palpatine, though, and ran over to him, swiftly picking him up and jumping back towards the hill, Luke on his heels. Palpatine made a motion to go after him, but Obi-Wan waved his hand at all the trees in the area, causing all of them to collapse, not on Palpatine, but on each other. The chain reaction caused a whole domino effect to where Palpatine had no choice but to focus on either dodging the trees or stopping the reaction before he was buried in them.

Obi-Wan rushed off, and the others took off after him. They made it towards the edge of the forest again and Obi-Wan continued all the way to the house they had left twice now. The door opened and they all made it inside. People everywhere seemed to have been waiting anxiously.

Anakin remained very stiff as Obi-Wan gently put him down. The pain was horrible, but he had felt worse on Mustafar. It seemed odd that even Palpatine's lightning hadn't been the worst injury Anakin had ever gotten; the worst injury he had ever gotten was from his 'friend'.

It was reliving the memories that had tortured him. Palpatine had forced him to watch all the way from the becoming of Darth Vader to the killing of the younglings to the battle on Mustafar to finally getting put into that blasted suit. He probably would've continued with showing all the murders Lord Vader had committed but then Obi-Wan stepped in.

Why did he do that? Why did Obi-Wan come and rescue him?

Irritation filled Anakin; Obi-Wan was still holding him in his arms like a younger brother. He was _not_ incapable of taking care of himself! Why couldn't he just release him and lie his back down. He had at least gotten far enough to where Anakin's legs were on the ground. Obi-Wan was kneeling beside him, holding him up. Anakin let out a low growl in his throat, and Obi-Wan heard it, but the blasted Jedi _still_ didn't let him go. Ooh, this was getting _very_ annoying.

"You full-feathered, huttslimed, laserbrained, kriffing murglak!" Anakin growled at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows at Anakin's colorful terms. "What in the blazes were you thinking?"

"I was saving _you_," Obi-Wan replied calmly.

"Why?" Anakin grumbled. "He would've stopped it after a while, you know. You _koochoo_!"

Han walked over. "Hey, who's calling who an idiot?"

Luke and Leia appeared behind him, Chewbacca taking up the rear.

"Father, are you all right?" Luke asked.

Han looked over at Luke. "What did you call him?"

"Han, he's my father," Luke said impatiently before turning his attention back on Anakin.

"HE'S YOUR _WHAT_?!" Han exclaimed. "But—but Leia said that—you're her—and she's your—what?!"

The screaming gave Anakin's already pounding forehead a headache, and so he closed his eyes and let out a soft moan. Through the Force he could sense Obi-Wan shooting a glare to silence Han, but Han continued to splutter.

The headache continued, so Anakin didn't open his eyes or say anything again. He could almost sense amusement coming from Obi-Wan, so instead of saying anything, he sent a wave through the Force that pretty much gave Obi-Wan a slight smack on the head. Obi-Wan's body flinched, and his hand slowly creeped towards Anakin's neck in response...what was he doing?

Obi-Wan's fingers reached Anakin's neck, but instead of strangling him or trying to grip him roughly like Anakin thought he would, Obi-Wan started to gently rub his fingers back and forth...oh, Anakin knew where he was going from here...how did he find out about his only weak spot?

Before Anakin could even finish his though, he felt the giggles start to form in his chest. He did his very best to hide it, but it bubbled to the surface. A chuckle escaped from him, and Anakin buried his face in Obi-Wan's chest to prevent any more exposure to his fingers. Obi-Wan's chest bounced slightly as Obi-Wan laughed.

"Ah, I finally found your weak spot," he said playfully. Anakin blinked and looked up at him with a confused expression; what was he playing at?

But that's exactly what he was doing; _playing_. Obviously Obi-Wan just wanted to irritate Anakin for the sake of amusement. Anakin saw the promise of a long wave of tickles glitter in Obi-Wan's eyes.

"You _sleemo_!" Anakin yelled before Obi-Wan did an assault on him again, causing Anakin to roll out of his arms directly onto Luke before the tension between all of them suddenly turned into laughter and they all tackled each other at once.

* * *

**Okay, so the ending probably sounds a little confusing or odd, but it was just one of those tense moments where one person breaks the ice and the whole thing just flows out. Oh, and if you want to know where I got certain Star Wars curse words, it was from a Star Wars blog on Star **


	21. The Third and the Fifth

Anakin dragged himself out of the fit of laughter and tickling that was coming from Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan. Well, he certainly never expected Obi-Wan to do that; the man never seemed too playful to Anakin. Sighing, Anakin giggled softly; laughter sure was a good remedy. It certainly seemed to be working with them; they just all let their stress through laughter. In fact, laughter was such a good remedy, Anakin almost forgot about Palpatine…

…until he saw him standing in the doorway.

………

Padmé Amidala sighed as she looked out the window of the house she was in. That storm was horrible, and it was wrecking Theed. Her mind swam as she tried to piece it all together. The last thing she remembered was giving birth to the twins and then…and then…everything seemed to be a dream from there. It was almost as if she was dead. Or was she?

Horror flooded Padmé as realization struck her. She _had_ been dead! _Oh, Anakin,_ she thought. _Beloved, where are you?_

Those dreams she had…how could she have dreams if she was dead? Perhaps since she was dead, she just knew what was going on in the living world without understanding it? Padmé looked at her reflection and raised an eyebrow; boy, she certainly thought like a Jedi on that one; maybe it was because her husband was one. 

The very mention of her husband caused fear and worry to fill her. Padmé desperately racked her brain to go through those odd dreams after her death…Anakin was put in a respirator…_Oh, my love,_ Padmé felt horrible…but she continued to watch…the Empire spread…the Death Star…Alderaan! 

"Bail!" she exclaimed softly. 

Bail Organa died when Alderaan was destroyed…then three years later, Luke Skywalker learned of his heritage…Luke! Leia!

Padmé looked outside at the horrible devastation the storm was causing; her beautiful home was being torn apart…but she had to go out in it. Padmé had a horrible feeling that her children and husband were out there, and they all needed her…whether they knew it or not.

Padmé sighed as she looked at her ghostly reflection in the window. She _had_ been around Jedi for too long; she was coming to the same conclusions and getting similar feelings to them, although that might just be her years of experience in politics. 

The senator walked over towards the owner of the house. "Do you have a coat I could borrow?"

Padmé certainly couldn't go in the clothes she wascurrently in; they were the clothes she wore on Mustafar; the only difference was there was no bulge under her rib cage. The owner looked worriedly outside.

"Is that really wise, miss?"

Amidala nodded. "I have to,"

Though he was still obviously worried, the man grabbed a coat and handed it over to her. "Be safe," he said.

Padmé thanked him for his kindness and generosity and quickly made her way outside into the storm…what was _with_ this weather? Hail flung itself towards her as she jumped out of the way. Was she going to survive getting to another building? She didn't even know where her love was! _Think, Padmé, _she told herself. _Ask the locals; they must have seen someone._

The next hour, Padmé spent her time freezing as she went from house to house, inn to inn, and store to store asking if they had seen anyone by any description recognizable to her. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Luke, Leia, even Han or Chewbacca…Bail, Mon Mothma…Padmé started to get desperate. She didn't know who was back or what was going on, and she was running outside in the middle of the worst storm Naboo had ever seen, but she wouldn't stop until she found Anakin. She wouldn't abandon her love…no, she wouldn't let him go. Padmé was going to find him and hold him, _never_ letting go…_nobody_ would tear them apart as horribly as Palpatine had ever again…_she_ would protect _him_ this time. _Anakin_ was the one who needed the protection all along. 

The storm seemed to remain the same, and it might have even been calming down for the past hour, but suddenly, it took a violent turn for the worse. Something was definitely wrong; Padmé didn't have to be a Jedi to see _that_. 

………

_That same river that had been so horribly unbalanced as Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé, and Palpatine fell into it began to calm down, but it suddenly churned violently. A fifth figure fell in, this one much smaller than any of them. _

* * *

**Sorry that this one is short, but at least it's not one or two paragraphs...anyway, I was going to do more, but I wanted to get you with that cliffie. I'll update soon! **

**Ani: Review or I'll find your lack of reviews disturbing.**


	22. Memories and Discoveries

**Okay, ladies and gents, you have every right to kill me. I never expected to make you wait _that_ long. But, if you all didn't die of old age, you can still read to your heart's content and please review.**

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi had always trusted in the Force, and it had never let him down before. He was almost rarely taken by surprise because of it, so he seemed as if he knew everything.

Well, to say the least, Obi-Wan was certainly caught off guard as he heard the sound of crashing glass, felt a cold sensation in the Force wash over him, and then heard lightsabers begin to sizzle in the rain and crash against each other. Luke and Leia jumped and grabbed each other; Han and Chewbacca, on the other hand, took a sharp breath in and got off of each other, staring around for the source of what just happened.

The entire room was in a panic, all huddling in a corner as far away one side of the house as they could get. The couple who owned the house held each other tightly, looking horrified.

Luke and Leia let go of each other and ran over to the couple. "What happened?"

The woman pointed to a window on the other side of the house, where the source of the noise had come from. A woman's scream was heard outside, quickly followed by a man's yell of pain. More sounds of lightsabers clashing, and then something odd; everything became silent. _Everything._ The storm subsided; it was almost as if they were in the eye of a crusé. Within seconds of this odd phenomenon, a crash of thunder so loud that it made the rest of the windows crack was heard. Lightning struck the forest, and smoke could be seen; something caught fire. The rain didn't come back, nor the hail. No more thunder or lightning; everything was still. Grey clouds lined the sky, making it impossible to even get sunlight through. Everything grew dark. What in the _blazes_ was going on?!

Obi-Wan rushed towards the window, and the scene that showed itself caught him completely off guard. Palpatine could be seen in the distance, dragging something… or was it someone? On the other hand, an unconscious woman was slumped beside the wall; obviously Palpatine must have thrown her against it. Wait… that wasn't just some Nubian woman…

"Ah, blast," was all Obi-Wan could say.

The Jedi Master rushed out of the house and ran over to Padmé. He gently carried her inside and lied her down on the mat that Anakin had been on just a few moments ago. _Anakin!!_

Obi-Wan looked for Anakin desperately through the Force. He sensed Palpatine with him… Palpatine _had_ been dragging someone! Han and the others rushed over to Obi-Wan and Padmé.

"Obi-Wan…" Leia began slowly, staring at the Nubian woman. "Who is this?"

"Not another familiar feeling…" Luke muttered. "Ben, who is she?"

Obi-Wan shook his head; he couldn't hide this secret, but their reaction would slow things down. "She's your mother."

………

Jedi Master Yoda leaned against his gimer stick and took a deep breath as he went into the Force, sensing for Darth Vader and Darth Sidious.

When he sensed Sidious, he felt _Skywalker's_ presence near him, not Vader's. Sidious had kidnapped the young Jedi Knight. He didn't seriously expect the young one to fall into his servitude _again_? Unless…

Yoda sighed. Palpatine could still manipulate the boy. His Force signature in the Force felt like a planet-wide storm. The boy's emotions were swarming around him like memory moths released into a glowing cylinder.

A scream that tore through the Force was heard. The Chosen One; Palpatine was torturing him. Taking great care to make sure he wasn't detected by the Sith Lord, Yoda slowly made his way towards the swamps. He sensed other Force signatures around; the Skywalker twins, and young Kenobi. It seemed that Senator Amidala was alive as well as Kenobi. He sensed them all clustered together, and weighed the options of going to them first, but he shook his head; no, from what he could sense, Luke and Leia were having enough issues of their own, especially just finding out the identity of their mother, so the last thing they needed was another Jedi Master showing up.

The aged Master looked up at the sky. It was still extremely dark, but at least it had stopped raining and hailing. Smelling smoke, Yoda looked at the forest and saw that a fire was blazing unchecked. How in the blazes did a fire start up when the place was just literally _drowned_ in water? Maybe some lightning superheated it, but it would have to be from the inside…

Palpatine. Again.

Bringing the Force around him, Yoda calmed himself down and went forth to rescue Skywalker.

…………

Anakin Skywalker was lost. What was crazy about it was it was in his own mind. How the blazes can a guy get lost in his own head? Never mind… it's actually pretty easy, but under normal circumstances, one could pull out of it.

Of course, since this was Anakin Skywalker, the situation was anything but normal.

Anakin felt heat start to kick up, and an eerily red glow spread itself throughout the darkness that had been surrounding him. He could hear the roar of distant volcanoes continuously erupting. _Oh Force, not that…_

But of course, it was just that; Mustafar. In Anakin's opinion, the planet was every hell in every religion mixed into one. Suddenly, people and images started swimming into focus. Anakin wasn't watching this; he was living it. He suddenly felt a sense of shock register in him as he looked up to see Obi-Wan Kenobi standing in a ship as he heard Padmé desperately talking to him. The shock quickly dulled down to a sense of betrayal, which quickly turned into pure hatred.

Anakin tried to hold back the predator's growl about to escape from his throat, but he couldn't control his own body. _"You…"_

Obi-Wan spoke calmly, "Padmé. Move away from him."

"Obi-Wan?" Padmé looked back at the ship where he was looking and saw the Jedi Master. _"No!" _

Once again, the menacing killer's growl erupted from Anakin's throat, an octave lower than his regular tone. He looked at her, and could feel the hate blazing out of his eyes. _"You… _you _brought_ him here…"

Padmé turned back to look at Anakin, and fear was in _her_ eyes. The sight of it tore out Anakin's heart. _Stop this… _he thought desperately. _Please…_

"Anakin?" she whispered timidly.

Obi-Wan's tone was now urgent. "Padmé, move _away_. He's not who you think he is. He _will_ harm you."

Anakin felt a sneer come to his lips. The thoughts that went through his mind at the time came out from his lips. "I would thank you for this, if it were a gift of love."

Padmé began to shake her head and back away. "No, Anakin—no…"

"Palpatine was right," Anakin went on, feeling the hatred starting to take over him. It made him tremble internally. _Stop this…_ he told himself. _This is your _own_ memory; you can get yourself out of this!_ But he was too terrified; too frozen to the memory because he knew what happened. He always relived this moment, event without Palpatine's help; this just made it ten times worse because he was forced in here and couldn't get out. "Sometimes it is the closest who cannot see. I loved you too much, Padmé."

His hand rose up, making a fist. Anakin could feel the dark side flowing through him and strangling her. He was choking the life out of her. His own _wife_. How could he have _ever_ gotten to this?

His own stupidity, _that_ was for sure. Anakin wanted to kill himself. Use his own Force move against him. He wanted to gut himself with his own lightsaber. Do _anything_ to stop this. And still, the memory went on.

"I loved you too much to _see_ you! To see what you _are_!"

"Let her go, Anakin," Obi-Wan started walking down the ramp.

Anakin gave a snarl. "You will not take her from me!"

_Take her from me?! Blast, I looked at her as a possession! Oh, Force, why can't I just _die_?!_

"Let her go!"

"_Never!"_

Anakin could have sworn his head was going to burst. Maybe he'd kill himself from a seizure. Or a stroke. Anything. _Anything_...

The first thought that came to his head wasn't another moan though… well, at least not a self-mutilating one.

_Obi-Wan… please… help me…_

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**Okay, all quotes in the Mustafar memory come directly from the book, so they don't belong to me. They belong to Matthew Stover and George Lucas. Again, please review.  
**


	23. Star Gazing

**Oh. My. GOODNESS!! I am SO sorry about this RIDICULOUSLY long wait. This is what happens, folks, when you have a story in mind but no organized way of writing it... UGH! On top of that, the computer CRASHED and I LOST THE WHOLE STORY! SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's the next chapter; it's not very long, but I think it's MUCH longer than most of them, so please--if you haven't died from old age--enjoy!!**

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Obi-Wan had given up trying to snap Luke and Leia out of their shock. Instead, he let Padmé deal with it; he was _not_ losing Anakin.

On his way to the forest, he ran into Master Yoda. Obi-Wan was extremely surprised, but somehow he hadn't put it past the situation to bring Yoda back.

The two Jedi Masters rushed into the forest, Obi-Wan getting more worried by the minute. He didn't sense any physical pain from Anakin this time… but he could sense the boy was in danger.

Then, suddenly, he heard a voice in his head. _Obi-Wan… please… help me…_

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan muttered softly.

The two masters increased their pace and soon found Anakin alone and twitching. Apparently Palpatine wasn't in the mood for a confrontation this time… but why would he leave his prey?

Yoda motioned for Obi-Wan to get his former apprentice while the former looked around.

Obi-Wan quickly rushed over to Anakin who was twitching violently on the ground. "Anakin—Anakin, snap out of it!"

It took a while, but the boy finally calmed down. Anakin's eyes opened slowly, a few stray tears from the experience leaking out. Anakin sat up, looking around, completely disoriented. "What…?"

Obi-Wan stood him up. "Come on; let's get out of here."

"Wha—how many times do I have to run into you?" Anakin practically moaned.

"I don't know—how many times do you have to get caught?" Obi-Wan shot back casually.

Anakin grumbled under his breath and the two made their way back through the forest and towards the house once more.

While they were stumbling to the house, Anakin paused, looking around.

Thinking that he had sensed his wife, Obi-Wan braced himself for any sort of reaction, but apparently Anakin was too out of it to even notice Padmé's presence.

"Is someone following us?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan a little shakily.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I—I though I sensed someone following us…"

Obi-Wan put a reassuring arm around Anakin and allowed the exhausted Jedi to lean his weight on him. "Anakin, I think you're just a little tired. Let's go to the house so you can rest."

Anakin remained silent for the rest of the walk.

Luke and Leia apparently got over the shock of the news about Padmé, because when the two Jedi entered the house they were immediately bombarded by the twins.

"Ben! Father!" Luke helped the two into the house. "What happened? How did Palpatine get you again?"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "You sure he's not _your_ son? You're both equally annoying!"

"No, if it's annoyance you're talking about, he's definitely _your_ son." Obi-Wan replied, folding his arms across his chest.

Anakin offered an irritated snort in response, but his sour expression quickly changed when he saw the woman watching him. "What…?"

Padmé walked over to him and sat down beside him. "Hello, Ani,"

Anakin gaped, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Padmé finally just laughed and embraced him in a tight hug.

"Relax, Anakin," she told him.

The door to the house opened once again and Master Yoda entered, looking like a wet womprat from all the rain. "Bah… cold it is!"

Anakin jumped and whirled around to see the Jedi Master. Padmé merely laughed and Luke also gaped.

"Like father like son," Obi-Wan giggled.

"Yoda?" Luke ran over to the aged Jedi. "But—but you're—"

"Mmm, dead am I?" Yoda looked at Luke. "Dead is Obi-Wan? Dead is Anakin? Bah, think I would not come back, you did!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been a whole week since the incident had started. In that time, Padmé had pretty much explained her whole life to her children, Anakin had gone stir-crazy (as well as Han), Chewbacca and Obi-Wan had run out of Clone War conversations, and Yoda had entertained every youngling in the building.

The sun was finally starting to peek through the grey clouds. People were coming out of their makeshift shelters, celebrating the fact that there was no more destruction.

"Do you think that storm was a result of the Force's problem?" Luke asked Anakin.

The fidgety Sith Lord looked at his son, his fingers twitching. "I don't care what it was—I'm just glad it's _over_!"

With that being said, Anakin hopped up and rushed out of the building with Obi-Wan laughing.

"Was he always like that?" Han asked.

"Yes," Obi-Wan replied simply. "He could never really sit still—and it wasn't lack of maturity… the war made him restless. He couldn't find peace anywhere, so he couldn't sit still."

"Huh…" was all Han had to say.

All of the inhabitants in the house ran outside, enjoying the pockets of sunlight. Padmé, Luke, and Leia joined Anakin, Leia sticking close to her mother. Yoda and Obi-Wan watched as Han and Chewie joined the others.

"It's going to take a while for them to get accustomed to each other once again, isn't it?" Obi-Wan asked the Jedi Master.

"Still tainted, young Skywalker is," Yoda explained. "Unsure of what to do, he is. Need guidance, he does."

Obi-Wan looked at Yoda. "Are you suggesting that I take care of him, Master? He barely gets near me let alone _listens_ to me."

"Problems listening, Skywalker always had," Yoda reminded him. "Yet only to you would he listen."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I suppose so… but this isn't the same."

Yoda looked at Obi-Wan. "His mentor and guardian you are. Adjust to any situation, you must."

Obi-Wan nodded and exited the building. He took note that Anakin was keeping a wide breath away from everyone, even Padmé.

At the end of the day, the couple offered their home for another night to those whose homes had been demolished.

As everyone settled down for the night, Anakin sat on top of the roof, star gazing. Obi-Wan walked outside with the others.

"Did he do that a lot, too?" Luke asked him.

"He did enjoy star gazing, yes," Obi-Wan answered.

Padmé looked at her husband with concerned eyes. "I'm worried about him; he's been awfully quiet."

Before anybody had the chance to answer, Anakin suddenly bolted up from his spot. "Guys…?"

"What's the matter, Anakin?" Padmé asked.

Anakin jumped off of the roof and then looked up at the sky once again, blinking his eyes several times.

"Anakin, what's wrong?" Obi-Wan and Padmé both asked.

"It's… it's Alderaan." Anakin muttered in disbelief. "I can see it in the sky as if it were never blown up in the first place!!"

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**Reviews would be very much appreciated... please...? *stares hopefully***


	24. Alderaan

**102 reviews! Yippee! I'm so happy I still have reviewers; I thought you guys abandoned me! *cries in a corner* Well I was so happy that I updated quickly (it's a MIRACLE!!!). Enjoy the next chapter!**

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Padmé looked at her husband while he slept. Han was getting the _Millennium Falcon_ ready to take off while Luke talked to Obi-Wan and Leia spoke to the Alliance.

Anakin used to look somewhat peaceful in his sleep, but now he looked nervous and anxious. He continually shifted in his sleep, moaning occasionally. At first, Padmé thought it was a nightmare, but he didn't seem to be in too much of a state, so obviously he was just sleeping. She placed a calming hand on his arm as he once again began to stir in discomfort.

"Oh, Ani, what am I going to do with you?" she whispered, leaning her head on his chest. His heartbeat was faster than that of a sleeping man's. Padmé's head shot up. "Anakin, you're not even asleep!"

A smile appeared on his face and for a moment he looked the way he did on Naboo all those years ago when they had been having a picnic in the fields. But it only lasted a moment; it was quickly replaced by a frown as he looked around at his surroundings.

"What happened?" he asked her. "Where am I?"

Anakin had fallen asleep shortly after the panic of Alderaan's reappearance. During that time, Obi-Wan had used the Force to put him into a deep sleep so he could get the rest he needed. Leia had negotiated with the Alliance to discuss the problem (and was still talking about a few issues) and they had been ordered to investigate what was going on with Alderaan while the Rebels tried to figure out where Palpatine had vanished off to. It had been two days since that issue had been brought up, and Anakin and Padmé were now in one of the crew quarters of the _Falcon_.

As Padmé explained all of this, Anakin seemed to calm down a little. "So we're going to Alderaan?"

Padmé nodded. "Yes,"

Anakin glanced into her eyes for a moment before quickly looking away. Padmé suppressed a sigh; he was so timid around all of them.

Suddenly, Anakin sat rigid. "Someone's here."

"What?"

"Someone's here." Anakin repeated.

"Ani, what are you talking about?" Padmé asked. "Who's here?"

"I—I don't know…" he muttered, his eyelids drooping.

"Anakin, you're very tired," Padmé explained leaning him back onto his cot. "You need a lot of rest."

"And you don't?" he shot back, getting up once again and this time getting out of bed. "_You_ should be the one resting, not me."

Anakin slipped his boots on and walked out of the small room, leaving Padmé alone.

* * *

The engines roared to life as the _Millennium Falcon_ rose from Theed's spaceport and flew into the sky. It broke out of the atmosphere within the minute and Han quickly plotted in the coordinates for Alderaan.

Luke was sitting behind him and Chewbaccca, his leg crossed in a comfortable position. Obi-Wan was stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"You know the last time all four of us were in here going to Alderaan was four years ago?" Han reminded them as he punched for the ship to enter hyperspace.

The four sat in reminiscing silence as the _Falcon_ began its trip to Alderaan.

Obi-Wan's thoughts drifted off towards Anakin. He reached out into the Force to sense where his former Padawan was, only to find him pacing impatiently in the lounge with Leia avoiding him like the plague. She definitely was his daughter; they both had stubbornness beyond reason.

Obi-Wan sighed. This was going to be a long trip. He wouldn't be training Luke to be a Jedi in five minutes this time… he wouldn't be wondering what could possibly have happened to Princess Leia and why the Force chose now to get him out of his exile.

He wouldn't be wondering if he was going to see Anakin again.

All those years ago when they were heading to Alderaan, Obi-Wan had wondered for a short while if he would see his former apprentice… which, of course, he did. Just not in the way he had hoped.

Obi-Wan had known that Anakin was destroyed, but he still had some small strand of hope… he supposed he thought he would see Anakin when he died.

_Guess not_… he thought. _Now he's neither Anakin nor Vader; just a very confused and angry rouge Sith Lord.

* * *

_

It had been three hours since they entered hyperspace. Luke wandered around the _Falcon_, finding his way to the lounge where he had been practicing with a lightsaber those four long years ago. So much had changed in that time. He was just starting his training as a Jedi then. Now he was a Jedi Master.

"In your dreams, Luke,"

Luke jumped and turned around, finding his father standing in front of him. "What?"

"You're no Jedi Master," Anakin replied, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall casually.

"What are you talking about, Father?" Luke asked. "Of course I'm a Jedi Master,"

Anakin let out a mirthless laugh. "Young boy, you're barely a Padawan."

A little confused as to why his father was behaving so oddly, Luke remained silent and let Anakin continue.

"If you and I had dueled on the Death Star when I was younger, you would be dead. You're too slow and stiff." Anakin said in a cold tone.

Luke took a step back like he had been smacked in the face. Anakin pushed himself off the wall and left the hallway without another word.

Behind Luke, Obi-Wan walked up. "Luke, are you okay?"

"Uh, y-yeah," Luke stuttered. "I'm fine."

Obi-Wan put a comforting hand on Luke's shoulder. "It's alright. I know he hurt you."

"Why did he say that?" Luke asked before he could stop himself; Ben was right, it _did_ hurt.

"It's Anakin's way of saying 'be careful'. He's worried about what's going on with Alderaan. As am I," Obi-Wan explained. "Anakin has an interesting way of expressing himself. Sometimes he's aloof and other times he's so intense you don't know what to say. I think right now he's just trying to adjust to the situation, particularly with being surrounded by people who he has considered enemies for decades. He's not going to show too much positive emotion."

Obi-Wan gave Luke a reassuring smile before removing his hand and following the path Anakin just took down the hall. Luke stood and watched before shaking his head; what a mess they were all in!

Ben was right, though; it _was_ an odd way of showing that he cared… but if he examined what his father had said, he could see that it was a warning. After all, if he didn't care, he wouldn't have said anything at all and Luke would probably get himself killed… although he didn't see how. Sure, there were probably a whole host of things that could go wrong, particularly since Alderaan was supposed to be _obliterated_, but Luke was ready for it. He _had_ been fighting and training for four years now.

The sound of the _Falcon_ exiting hyperspace reverberated throughout the ship as it shuddered. Luke rushed to the cockpit.

"So, Han, what do you see?" Luke said as he ran in, and then all the words left him.

Everyone else rushed into the cockpit and froze once they looked out of the viewport.

Alderaan was there.

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**Okay, yeah, so this is kind of a cliffie (I'm really good at those, aren't I? :P )... but please PLEASE review!**


	25. An Old Enemy, or a New Friend?

**Yippee! Here's the next chapter! All these reviews are getting me excited! :-D**

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Aldera City looked just as it had before it was destroyed. Residents were wandering around (most in shock). People all over the streets looked up and pointed at the _Millennium Falcon_ flew overhead towards Aldera's royal palace.

Two figures rushed out onto the landing platform as the _Falcon_ settled down on her landing gear. The landing ramp came down and immediately, Leia Organa rushed down to meet the two, embracing them.

Luke, Han, and Chewbacca came down next, with Obi-Wan and Padmé following. Anakin stood at the top of the ramp watching.

Bail Organa and his wife Breha released their tight hug with Leia just as the others caught up. Bail nearly dropped his composure when he saw Padmé.

"Hello, Bail," she said with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of Leia."

"But… but—you're dead!" Bail stuttered.

Padmé laughed. "No offense, Bail, but I could say the same about you."

Bail joined her in laughing. "I suppose you're right if you put it that way."

"How is this even remotely possible?" Han asked as Bail and Padmé talked.

Luke could only offer a silent shrug.

Obi-Wan looked over at Anakin and motioned for him to come down, but Anakin stayed put. Only when Yoda came behind him and knocked him in the legs with his gimer stick did he start stumbling down to the landing platform.

Immediately, Bail stiffened, but Padmé put a reassuring hand on his arm. "It's okay, Bail; he's not going to do anything."

"How long have you been here?" Luke asked him.

"About a week," Bail answered. "Odd things have been going on; the people are certainly unsettled."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

Bail sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "Perhaps we can discuss this indoors? I doubt you all wish to stand here for long."

"That would be preferable, yes," Padmé nodded.

They all began to walk forward… all except Anakin.

Obi-Wan paused and turned around, eyeing Yoda irritably as the Jedi Master did nothing to persuade Anakin differently. Yoda merely looked at him with a mischievous twinkle and continued walking. Obi-Wan walked back towards Anakin.

"Come on, Anakin," he told him.

Anakin seemed distracted, however. His eyes were unfocused.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan gave him a slight shake to snap him out of it.

Anakin shook his head and looked at Obi-Wan. "We've got to go."

"Go where?"

"To Coruscant,"

Obi-Wan gave an incredulous look. "Anakin, we're not going to the _Imperial Center_. No one will recognize you as Darth Vader, and the rest of us are enemies."

"Blast it, Obi-Wan, _listen to me!_" Anakin yelled, fed up. The party up ahead stopped walking and turned around to see what was going on.

"Anakin, what is wrong with you?" Obi-Wan asked him.

"I don't want to go to Coruscant for the sake of it," Anakin rambled irritably. "It's because of _Palpatine_. Don't you know what he's planning? People think he's dead because he's been gone for almost two weeks after the second Death Star was destroyed, but all of that is going to change once he gets back to Coruscant and reclaims his throne from the squabbling Imperial officials. He'll send an entire fleet to get us!"

"Are you quite sure of this?" Obi-Wan looked into his eyes intensely.

"Yes," Anakin nodded. "I know Palpatine enough to be positive that's his plan."

"Then we'll have to act quickly," Obi-Wan agreed. "But first, we need to figure out what's going on here. We can't go rushing off to Coruscant; _you_ of all people should know that."

"Of course I know that," Anakin snapped. "I'm just saying we shouldn't be lounging around hugging and kissing. Let's not have this pointless mushy junk and let's get _moving_."

"I understand your concern, Master Skywalker," Bail Organa said from where he stood with the group. "But I do have some news that might interest you,"

Anakin looked annoyed, but he remained silent. If there was one thing that was different about him now from when he was younger, it was he knew the game of politics far better. He took a deep breath and composed himself, but Obi-Wan could sense his anger bubbling just below the surface.

The two joined the group and they all entered the palace, going to a lounge area where they could sit down and talk.

"So what's this news that you mentioned?" Padmé asked.

"There's been a murder," Bail stated simply.

This caught the inhabitants of the room off guard, even Anakin. Crime on Alderaan was quite unnatural, particularly murder. It wasn't impossible, but it certainly was rare.

"A _murder_?" Han repeated. "_That's_ a shock."

"What intrigues me is the evidence." Bail went on. "The body was found just outside of Aldera, along with a half demolished building. Most of the evidence has been wiped clean, but we did find a few things of interest, such as scientific tools. The body looked rather mutilated too; we're suspecting that the person was tortured and perhaps even experimented on before being killed."

"Who would do that?" Luke asked. "And why? Do you have any suspects?"

Bail shook his head. "We don't have enough evidence to suspect anyone."

"Who was the victim?" Anakin piped in.

"We don't know," Bail answered. "His blood doesn't match any of our records. He's not from Alderaan. He was a twelve-standard-year-old boy."

"Good Force, he was just a boy?" Han shook his head. "What a sick person."

"Can we examine the body?" Obi-Wan asked.

Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca threw incredulous looks in Obi-Wan's direction, but Anakin, Yoda, and Padmé didn't seem surprised by the question. In fact, they looked interested.

"Of course," Bail stood up and led them out of the room.

As they exited the royal palace to go to security, Anakin paused, looking around.

"Anakin, what is it?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding a little exasperated.

"I'm telling you, we're being _followed_." Anakin stressed.

Obi-Wan sighed. "I don't sense anything, Anakin. Just _relax_,"

Obi-Wan took Anakin by the arm and gently pushed him forward, leading him along the way as they followed Bail Organa. Master Yoda looked strangely sad, but Obi-Wan didn't say anything. He was too busy trying to keep Anakin from wandering out of the group.

When they arrived, they went to the morgue where Bail showed them the body.

"Poor boy," Padmé muttered. "He didn't have a chance."

"_No!"_

Everyone jumped and looked around to see a young brunette girl run in, tears running down her pale face. Her clothes were slightly torn and she looked tired and hungry.

"Aaliza?!" Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan, Han, and Chewbacca exclaimed.

Aaliza ran over to the boy and wept, shaking the boy constantly.

"How… how did you even _get_ here?" Han asked her.

"Who's this?" Anakin asked.

"A Nubian girl named Aaliza," Obi-Wan explained quickly, looking just as shocked as the others. "She got separated from her family because of me… but how did she _get_ here?"

Anakin had a smug look on his face. "I told you we were being followed."

"Anakin, this isn't funny," Obi-Wan retorted.

"When did I say it was?" Anakin rolled his eyes and then assumed a commanding presence, walking over to Aaliza. "Do you know this boy?"

Aaliza hiccupped. "He's my brother."

"What?!" Luke rushed over to her. "This is _your_ brother?"

Aaliza nodded before bursting into a fresh wave of tears. Leia, Luke, and Padmé started trying to comfort her as Anakin walked over to Bail, who was watching the scene silently.

"Show me where the body was found." He ordered him.

Bail could tell Anakin meant business and he led him out of the morgue, Obi-Wan following close behind.

The three walked in silence until they reached the outskirts of the city. Even Aldera had its slums, and this was the equivalent.

Bail led them to a single story building with a half collapsed roof. He stood outside as Anakin and Obi-Wan entered.

The instant the two entered, they sensed a familiar presence lingering in the air.

"Arbor," Anakin spat. "I should've known she would've been behind something like this."

Anakin was right; Jenna Zan Arbor, a scientist from before the Clone Wars who had caused many problems for Obi-Wan, Anakin, and even Qui-Gon Jinn. Arbor had joined the Separatists during the Clone Wars and then vanished when the Galactic Empire was founded.

"Why would she be experimenting on that boy, though?" Obi-Wan thought out loud. "This doesn't add up."

"Master, we're alive again for a reason, obviously the Force is unbalanced; what if she's wreaking havoc with her experiments again?" Anakin said without thinking.

Moments after his statement, he blinked a few times and looked away, wandering into another room. Apparently his slip-op brought him great discomfort. It disturbed Obi-Wan too; he hadn't heard Anakin say 'master' to him since their duel on Mustafar.

However, he had a point; they were definitely brought back for a reason, and the Force was most certainly unbalanced. But what caused the unbalance?

"Do you think one of her experiments might have had drastic consequences?" Obi-Wan speculated as he entered deeper into the laboratory.

Anakin answered back from another room. "I wouldn't put it past her. She has tried experimenting on Jedi before."

"There are no Jedi to experiment on," Obi-Wan pointed out. "How could she possibly have experimented on any?"

"Well she obviously experimented on the boy," Anakin went on. "But why would she do that? Was she testing a new disease of hers? I swear, once I find that hag—"

"Anakin, we're not here to cause problems, we're here to _fix_ them." Obi-Wan reminded the former Jedi.

Anakin's reply was silence. Obi-Wan suppressed a sigh. It was going to take a miracle for them to work together again.

Obi-Wan heard Anakin shifting through the rubble and debris as he went along. "There are traces of pain in this room."

Obi-Wan entered the room Anakin was in and looked around. A demolished console and broken data pads littered the floor. Dry blood caked the wall in the corner.

"She didn't seem to care about clean-up, did she?" Obi-Wan motioned towards the blood.

"That must be the boy's," Anakin said, but he went over to the wall nonetheless. "Unless Organa's security team is blind, this evidence is nothing new."

Anakin sighed in frustration and sat down on the ground in a meditative stance. Obi-Wan left the room silently to let him investigate.

Anakin closed his eyes and went into the Force, stretching out his senses and willing the room to show him what had been happening. He saw glimpses of the past, bits and pieces of pictures. He felt intense emotions go through his body and sudden pains before it ebbed away. He heard screams and machinery clicking. Finally he started slowing all the images and noises down to where he could start putting pieces of it together. He concentrated harder and paused an image going through is mind of the boy being tortured. His blood was being extracted… that was a technique that Arbor did to Jedi. Was the boy Force sensitive? Either way, it didn't matter now. He saw Arbor in the room, going back and forth. He sensed her anticipation… she wanted more than just to torture the boy. He was a means to the end, whatever the end was. What could she have possibly been trying to accomplish?

Focusing more, Anakin went deeper and tried to sense out Arbor's emotions as she went through the room. Anticipation… frustration: she wasn't getting to her goal as quickly as she had hoped. Worry: she didn't think she would get it done and that she would be discovered. Excitement: she was making progress. Satisfaction: she had succeeded.

What did she succeed on, though?

"I believe I can answer that question for you,"

Anakin jumped and snapped out of his meditation, activating his lightsaber immediately. Obi-Wan rushed into the room.

The two of them had been expecting anything, but their jaws still dropped when they saw Count Dooku of Serenno standing in front of them.

"Not you too," was all Anakin had to say.

"Yes, indeed," Dooku replied. "It's quite unfortunate that you are here, although I must say you have matured quite a bit since our last confrontation."

Anakin deactivated his lightsaber but he didn't relax. "Charming; now what are you doing here?"

"Straight and blunt as usual, I see," Dooku said in his typical scoffing tone. "I was the one being experimented on. I was the end that Jenna Zan Arbor so desired."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

"The boy was merely being toyed with so she could find a way to bring _me_ back," Dooku explained. "As you can see, she eventually succeeded. Unfortunately, it killed the boy in the process and apparently it caused a few problems with you all as well."

"That couldn't be what started all of this, could it?" Anakin speculated. "If it was, then why is all of this on Alderaan? I thought the planet being back was a _result_ of what happened."

"Oh, you are quite right, Skywalker," Dooku answered. "Alderaan is a result of what happened. You see, I am here because she moved her base of operations here once Alderaan returned. She seemed to think that it would be the perfect place to hide; directly in the confusion."

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged glances. "Then where is she now? She wouldn't leave her precious experiment behind."

Dooku's eyes glinted maliciously. "I don't enjoy being experimented on."

The two caught on to his meaning well enough and left it at that.

"You two can relax, you know," Dooku added after noticing that they had not eased up. "I have no intention on fighting you. I have more important matters to attend to."

"Ah, really?" Anakin asked in a vindictive tone. "Such as paying Palpatine a visit?"

"You have become rather perceptive," Dooku commented. "I do desire an audience with the emperor."

Anakin laughed harshly. "I'll help you out there; I'd like to talk to him as well."

Obi-Wan suppressed a moan; he was surrounded by a bunch of Sith Lords bent on revenge.

"I do believe that we should go check on the _others_," Obi-Wan stressed to Anakin.

The latter did not pay the slightest bit of attention to his comment. "Well, Dooku, shall we?"

Shockingly enough, it was Dooku who listened to Obi-Wan. "Ah, how _is_ Master Yoda?"

Obi-Wan held his temper in check. "He is rather well, _actually_. Perhaps you'd like to see him?"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Ah, yes, of course; we have to go through the committee first before we do anything."

The three exited the lab (with a very shocked reaction from Bail Organa). After briefly explaining the situation, the four rushed back to the morgue.

Aaliza seemed to have calmed down, but she wasn't looking any more cheerful than before. Chewbacca immediately snarled when Dooku entered the morgue.

"Where have you guys been?" Han asked.

Padmé eyed Dooku suspiciously. "And when did _he_ get here?"

"Senator Amidala," Dooku smiled. "It is a great pleasure to see you again."

Behind him, Anakin's anger had heightened to where it was coming off of him in waves. Obi-Wan knew that if Dooku tried anything else with Padmé, he was likely to get into a lightsaber duel with the boy.

Anakin summed up what had been going on. "Dooku's alive, Arbor caused the disturbance, Palpatine's going to take back his throne, and I'm going to Coruscant to stop him. Got any problems?"

Everyone stared at him and then some seemed to try to respond but Anakin cut them off. "Good,"

Anakin turned on his heel and marched out of the room without another word. Obi-Wan sighed and followed him out, Dooku and Master Yoda close behind. Padmé, who was still keeping a close eye on Dooku, left next.

Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca exchanged bewildered looks before coaxing Aaliza to go with them.

The group quickly returned to the _Millennium Falcon_ and Han and Chewie began preflight checks.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Han muttered. "This is _suicide_. We're going to be waltzing right into the Imperial Center!"

Anakin entered the cockpit. "You can always stay on Alderaan."

"And let you pilot my ship? Over my dead body," Han replied.

* * *

**Not as bad a cliffie this time! *gasps***

**Please review!  
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	26. Musings and the Arrival

**Okay, so I made you wait a little bit... sorry about that! Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

Padmé was not too happy with Dooku being stuck with them, but she and her children were too busy tending to Aaliza to concern themselves with the Sith Lord. Ever since she saw her dead brother, she was either wailing or lackadaisical. The girl was like an on/off switch. There had to be some way to cheer her up, but Padmé didn't know what, and she wasn't too concerned on figuring it out right now… not when they were flying into the heart of the Galactic Empire.

The very fact that they were doing this shocked her. Certainly someone like Anakin would try to rush into a situation without thinking, but Padmé would've that Yoda and Obi-Wan would know better than to do such irrational actions.

Leia and Luke were telling Aaliza amusing stories about their adventures with the Rebel Alliance, but the girl was inattentive. Padmé sighed. She could understand why the young Nubian was acting the way she was, but this was _not_ the time for them to be dealing with a ten-standard-year-old youngling.

"Come on, now, Aaliza," Luke said reassuringly. "It's okay. Everything's going to be fine."

Aaliza continued to stare ahead with her brown eyes. She was stiff as a board.

Leia sighed. "I don't know what else to do with her."

"How about you teach her to get a backbone?" Anakin said, entering the lounge.

Leia stood up, looking irritated. "How about you get a heart?"

Anakin shrugged. "I had one. But then it got stabbed and bled and it died. So I learned to live without one."

Anakin walked over to Aaliza and crouched down in front of her so she had to move her eyes away to avoid looking at him.

Her eyes didn't move. The distraught girl was comatose to the world.

Anakin suddenly grabbed her by her arms and gave her a rough shake. Luke, Leia, and Padmé all rushed over to pull him away, but he used the Force to hold them back.

"Now, listen to me, little girl," he said to her in a flat, serious tone. "Your brother is dead. You can stare into nothingness from now until you die and it won't make a difference. He's gone and he's not coming back. Sitting here like some idiot isn't helping him. You know your brother's probably in heaven watching you and saying what a baby you are?"

"Anakin, you're not _helping_," Padmé stressed, trying to break past the Force barrier Anakin put up.

Her husband ignored her. "Look up, girl. Look up at the ceiling. Up there, outside of this galaxy, your brother is watching you. Do you want to make him proud or are you going to sit here and mope over something that's already happened? Get off of your asteroid and get a grip!"

Aaliza's eyes began to fill with tears again and she started sobbing.

"Father, stop it," Luke protested.

Anakin shook Aaliza roughly once again to get her to look into his eyes. "Look at me, girl. Crying isn't going to change it. Tears make you weak. They only slow you down. Your brother is dead and you just sit around and cry; does it change anything? Tell me: does it change anything?"

Aaliza hiccupped and shook her head. Luke, Leia, and Padmé froze. That was the first time since the morgue that the girl reacted to anyone.

"Now get rid of those tears and get over it." Anakin told her, giving her a handkerchief.

Aaliza wiped her eyes and blew her nose just as Anakin turned and walked out of the room. The other three rushed over to the girl.

"I—I'm sorry…" she cried.

"It's okay, Aaliza," Leia cooed. "He's just a jerk, that's all."

Padmé looked at her daughter but she didn't say anything. What Anakin did was pretty cruel. How could he expect a ten-year-old to get over something so traumatic so quickly?

* * *

Anakin brooded as he walked out of the lounge. Stupid little girl, crying and acting incognizant… tears didn't get a person anywhere, _he_ knew _that_ when he was _three._

_The slave quarter for younglings was small and smelly. Most of the young ones there hadn't bathed in weeks, and considering the heat of Tatooine it wasn't pleasant. Mats that constituted as beds were strewn out all over the sand-speckled grated floor. In the corner of the room, a small semicircular window stood about a meter off of the ground, offering a ground view of the desert outside. _

_Younglings were filing in as they finished their work duty for the day. The ages ranged from three to twelve. _

_Four-year-old Anakin Skywalker trudged in, holding his bloody right hand in his other hand. He had cut it when he was fixing a moisture vaporator outside of Gardulla's palace, and it had been bleeding on and off since then. _

"_Did you hear that more slaves are coming in?" a seven-year-old purple-skinned Twi'lek girl asked the group._

"_What?" Anakin looked up. "Not more,"_

_The Twi'lek nodded. "Yep,"_

_Off in the distance, they heard wailing. Most of the younglings ignored it, but others moaned in irritation, Anakin among them. Anakin walked over to his mat and sat down, trying to push the annoying racket out of his head._

_Two Gamorreans entered the room and tossed a screaming girl down onto the floor. The girl continued flailing and bellowing long after the guards had left. The younglings walked away from her and lied down on their mats, trying to go to sleep._

_After a while, the girl stopped screaming, but she still cried uncontrollably. _

_Halfway through the night, Anakin finally gave up trying to sleep. That girl's consistent sobs were enough to keep him awake. _

_Growling in exasperation, Anakin got up and walked over to the girl, who was curled in a fetal position in the corner of the room._

"_Why are you crying?" Anakin asked._

"_I—I w-want my mommy!!" the girl wailed._

_Anakin covered his ears for a moment and then put his hands back down. "Screaming isn' gonna make her hear you."_

"_Yes, it is!" the girl insisted. "M-mommy and daddy will g-get me…"_

_Anakin shook his head. "No, they're not. My mommy hasn't got me."_

_The girl peeked her tear-streaked face out and looked at him with brown eyes. "You h-have a mommy t-too?"_

_Anakin nodded. "Yeah, but she doesn't care."_

"_I—I think she does," the girl replied._

_Anakin rolled his eyes. "You don't even _know_ her. Now will you stop crying? I can't sleep!"_

"_B-but my mommy…" the girl sobbed._

"_Listen, she's not gonna hear you." Anakin explained. "Don't you know that crying just makes it badder? They wanna see you cry. All of them. All those mean people out there wanna see you cry. And when you cry they think they own you. Crying's for babies. I'm not a baby. Are you?"_

Anakin leaned against the wall, pushing the memory out of his mind. This wasn't the time to get lost in the past. Still, that Aaliza girl just brought the memory back.

The girl who had been crying was named Vara. Her parents were in debt with Gardulla and so the Hutt finally put a price on their heads. When the bounty hunters came to kill them, they found Vara and captured her, shooting her parents after they dragged her off.

Vara was always sure that her parents were going to come get her. She always sat on the windowsill every night for hours until Anakin finally convinced her to go to bed. The last he ever saw of her was just before he and his mother were handed over to Watto after Gardulla lost a bet with him.

Anakin sighed. He wondered if Vara was even alive now. She was only a year younger than him; if she were still alive, she would be forty-five. Not a bad age, considering Humans lived to be about one hundred ten to one hundred twenty. Being in one's forties for a Human was considered being in one's prime.

Sensing Obi-Wan walking down the hall, Anakin quickly left the area and went to a private corner of the ship where he could be alone.

He couldn't wait to get his hands on Palpatine's throat. He had always wanted revenge against that monster for what he did to him. When he killed him, however, it was to save his son, not to get revenge. Anakin planned on making up for that now; he even had Dooku to help.

It was odd being on the same side as Dooku. Anakin had only known him when he was Palpatine's apprentice and Anakin was a Jedi; therefore, he was the enemy, and Anakin had always viewed him that way, even when he was Vader.

Sighing, he leaned his head against the wall. The flight to Coruscant was sixteen hours long. Even though Alderaan and Coruscant were rather close to each other in terms of the sections of the galaxy, there were so many stars in the core of the galaxy that navigating through hyperspace could be tricky. If one got too close to a star, the gravity would pull them out of hyperspace and right into the star itself. It was actually faster to go to Tatooine than Coruscant.

It had only been four hours since they left, which meant there were still twelve long hours left. Anakin suppressed an exasperated snarl; sometimes hyperspace travel could drag on and on.

* * *

Obi-Wan sighed as he walked to the _Falcon_'s lounge. Master Yoda was meditating in one chamber, Dooku in another. The only other private quarters were Han's and Obi-Wan didn't even want to know what they looked like. He had asked Han if there was somewhere else where he could meditate. Han suggested that he squeeze into a smuggling compartment, which he promptly declined.

So now they were heading to Coruscant, the Imperial Center. It was practically suicide, as Han had mentioned earlier, but it had to be done. They couldn't wait for Palpatine to get a fleet together. After all, they were separated from the Rebels… not to mention Palpatine would do anything to get Anakin back.

Anakin was Palpatine's little pet now. When he was younger, making him a Sith apprentice was one of Palpatine's objectives. Once he was in the suit, he was far weaker and bulkier. He was only there to serve his purpose until Palpatine found a better replacement for him. Now that he was younger again… Palpatine would want him more than ever. Force only knew what he would try to make Anakin do, and if Anakin didn't listen, then he'd either kill him or torture him into submission.

Obi-Wan didn't know Palpatine very well, but he knew Anakin well enough. No _physical_ torture would make him do something he didn't want to. No mental torture either; however, _emotional_ torture was a different story. After all, Palpatine played on Anakin's emotions to make him turn to the dark side in the first place. Anakin's weakness had always been there. Obi-Wan had just been too blind to see them…

An old wound opened up once again as Obi-Wan thought about Anakin's turn to the dark side. He had blamed himself since he was Anakin's master. For twenty years he lived with that guilt, and he went over every argument, mission, conversation… just to see if he could find the clue that he should've found long before Palpatine got a hold of him.

It was also Obi-Wan's fault that Anakin was close to Palpatine; he had thought it was harmless. He even suggested that Anakin talk to Palpatine when he was stressed; _particularly_ during the Clone Wars… he had been such a fool. He let Anakin walk right into Palpatine's trap, and then when the boy needed him the most he wasn't even there.

Anakin had _known_, too; when Obi-Wan was getting ready to leave for Utapau, Anakin had told him he had a bad feeling about it. Obi-Wan had thought it was about the mission, but looking at it in retrospect, he realized Anakin was talking about the situation at Coruscant—the situation in general—the _big picture_.

Obi-Wan entered the lounge and saw Aaliza sitting there with Luke and Leia beside her. Padmé was in the corner watching. Obi-Wan walked over and sat beside her.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Well, she _was_ lackadaisical earlier," Padmé explained. "But then Anakin decided to treat her like he would an Imperial officer and now she's in tears."

Obi-Wan looked at her. "I beg your pardon?"

"He talked to her—a ten-year-old, Obi-Wan—and told her that crying wasn't going to bring her brother back," Padmé waved her hand. "Among other things,"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Padmé, surely you remember Anakin's awful habit of being blunt, sometimes even downright rude. _Particularly_ when he's stressed,"

"I know, but… I just didn't expect him to do it to a _youngling_," Padmé looked away. "I don't even _recognize_ him anymore, Obi-Wan…"

Obi-Wan put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Padmé. Just like we're trying to adjust to the situation, he is trying as well. He just… has a very unconventional way of approaching it."

Padmé laughed. "That's putting it lightly,"

Obi-Wan smiled and then stood up. "I don't suppose you know any place I could go meditate?"

"Well… you could have the quarters Leia and I are in right now," Padmé suggested. "We're not going to be in there for a few hours anyway, not with the state Anakin put Aaliza in…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Obi-Wan," Padmé smiled kindly.

Obi-Wan bowed slightly. "Thank you, Padmé,"

"No, thank _you_, Obi-Wan," Padmé replied. "You've given me a little insight."

Obi-Wan nodded and exited the lounge, casting a worried glance in the youngling's direction.

As he walked down the hallway, Obi-Wan took note of the time on the chronometer he carried with him. They still had ten hours left in hyperspace.

He was so preoccupied with the time and so caught up in his thoughts that when he opened the door to Padmé and Leia's quarters, he didn't even notice Anakin was standing there until he almost ran into him.

"What are _you_ doing in here?" Anakin asked.

"I was just about to ask you that question," Obi-Wan said.

"I was just…" Anakin trailed off, trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind before his eyes hardened. "Hey, I asked _you_ first."

"I was coming here to meditate," Obi-Wan said matter-of-factly.

"In my wife's quarters?" Anakin's tone bore suspicion.

"I was originally going to meditate in the lounge, but seeing as you've made quite a mess in there, Padmé offered me her quarters for the time being," Obi-Wan did his best not to snap at Anakin. The notion of Anakin thinking Obi-Wan was up to something with his wife was rather ridiculous. "She said that with what you did to Aaliza, she won't be needing it for quite some time."

Anakin snorted before moving to leave the room.

"You didn't answer _my_ inquiry, Anakin," Obi-Wan interjected.

"I was just… looking for something," Anakin said unconvincingly.

Obi-Wan suppressed a sigh. "If you like, I can find a room elsewhere."

"Do I look like I still need this room?" Anakin motioned around the room. "I'm fine. Stay here and meditate if you like."

Anakin exited the room and the door hissed shut behind him. Obi-Wan leaned against the wall and blew out an irritated sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"

Anakin fumed the whole way to his quarters. Why did Obi-Wan have to barge in?

* * *

He hadn't been searching for anything… at least not really. What he was searching for was solace. In his wife and daughter's quarters, he could sense their presences as if they were with him but he wouldn't have to deal with the headache of Leia glaring at him wishing for his death or having memories of what happened to Padmé resurfacing whenever he looked at her face. He was fine until Obi-Wan entered.

As Anakin walked, he slowed his pace. Something still wasn't quite right…

* * *

Yoda sat cross-legged as he calmed his mind. He had a lot to worry about since they were going to Coruscant. Palpatine, of course, was the biggest thing to worry about, but another big concern was Anakin Skywalker. Skywalker had been fidgety, brooding, and dark ever since Yoda had been with him, and Yoda was sure he was like that before the Jedi Master's arrival as well. Anakin was going through a difficult trial, being around all these people: his son, his daughter whom he tortured, his wife who he almost killed, his mentor and brother/father figure who he _did_ kill… it was no wonder the boy was so stressed. Still, they couldn't confront Palpatine with him being so indecisive… so unsure of himself.

Yoda knew from his duel with Palpatine all those years ago that it would take more than the Jedi Master to fight Palpatine. Although the duel had almost been a stalemate, Yoda could not rely on _almost_.

Sensing Anakin walking by the door, Yoda stretched out his feelings towards the boy. Anakin felt stressed, irritated, and restless. He also felt lonely.

Shaking his head, Yoda felt sorry for the young one, but there was nothing he could do to help him at this moment. Anakin wouldn't listen to anyone.

However…

Something else was bothering Anakin. Something that the boy sensed… Yoda had sensed Aaliza following them the whole time and had watched her, making sure she didn't get hurt or into trouble. He even slipped food in subtle ways as to not tip her off that he knew of her being there. Out of the five Force sensitive people, four of whom were trained Jedi, only two—the Grand Master of the Jedi Order and the Chosen One—sensed a ten-year-old girl following them. It wasn't a lack of talent, Yoda knew that well. It was distraction; Luke, who hadn't perfected many talents of his quite yet, was too concerned with Alderaan and everything that was going on. His mind was on so many things that it really was on nothing at all. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, was so preoccupied with trying to help Anakin and figure out what to do with him that he didn't even think that Anakin actually _did_ sense something wrong and not just imagine it.

If Anakin was disturbed by something he sensed, it wasn't to be taken lightly.

Feeling out through the Force, Yoda tried to detect what could be wrong. It was rather difficult, considering _everything_ was going wrong all at once. Fortunately, Yoda managed to pinpoint what was bothering the boy…

What he found froze his blood. No wonder Anakin was in such a state!

* * *

The beeping sound signaling that they were exiting hyperspace ripped through any conversation or noise in the _Millennium Falcon_. Everyone immediately rushed towards the cockpit. The air was thick with tension and anxiety.

The blue, white, and black kaleidoscope faded away into realspace and the Imperial Center came blasting into view.

Han gulped. "I hope you guys know what you're doing."

"Land the ship near the Works," Anakin instructed. "There's a port near there."

"What about verification codes?" Luke asked. "They're going to ask for those, aren't they?"

Anakin nodded, more so to himself. "I'll take care of that."

He walked over towards the copilot chair and Chewbacca moved aside. Anakin sat down and entered the code before the Imperials requested it.

"Is that standard protocol?" Padmé looked at her husband uncertainly.

"Of course it is," Anakin replied. "If you waited for them to ask, you'd be telling them you're a newcomer to Imperial procedures, prompting a scan of the ship, its cargo, and its passengers. You do what you're supposed to do and you're less likely to garner anyone's attention."

Han flew the _Falcon_ into the atmosphere without a hitch and piloted it towards the Works, an abandoned area where the factories of Coruscant used to be. It was now a rather shady place.

"Are you sure they won't find us here?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No, they'll find us," Anakin said.

Everyone gaped at him. _"What?"_

"So you're putting us right into a trap!" Leia yelled.

Anakin held his hands up. "I wasn't intending for us to be captured. They'll recognize this ship no matter what. It's the _Millennium Falcon_, the entire Empire knows this ship. The verification codes will keep them deterred until they look at the details of the protocol scan they performed on the ship. The moment they realize it's a Corellian freighter, they'll grow suspicious and send a squad to investigate. We're landing in a docking port so that'll be something in our favor. If we were suspicious we'd land somewhere inconspicuous. The port near the Works is inconspicuous but in a subtle way; it's a lot easier to lose them there than anywhere else. Besides, maneuverability is also a lot easier since there's little air traffic in the vicinity. Just be prepared; there'll be stormtroopers no matter what."

Dooku, who had been standing in the hallway just outside the cockpit, let out a chuckle. "I'll admit one thing about you; you've always been a strategist."

* * *

**I know it's a semi-cliffie! I tried to make sure it WASN'T a cliffie, but if I kept typing until I found a stopping point, this chapter would be long enough to make your eyeballs pop out of their sockets! O.o**

**Review! Reviews inspire me to write more!  
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	27. The Battle Begins

**Haha, I updated on time!! Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Everyone was silent as Han landed the _Millennium Falcon_ in the dock Anakin pointed out.

"This is going to be interesting…" Han muttered.

Obi-Wan tensed up the moment the landing gear touched the ground. "No…"

Anakin looked at him knowingly. "It's about time you noticed."

Luke looked around the room before freezing in mid step. _"What?"_

Irritated at everyone _except_ for him noticing, Han stood up. "What is it?"

Chewbacca shrugged while Padmé and Leia looked at everyone with concern. "I'm not sure…"

Dooku sighed. "That's an interesting twist. Apparently, we're not the only ones who don't belong here."

"Another stowaway?" Han asked.

"No," Anakin replied. "Another Jedi… well, to clarify, a few thousand other Jedi."

_Now_ Han, Leia, Padmé, and Chewbacca reacted just like everyone else. _"What?"_

Yoda, who hadn't been seen since they left Alderaan, entered the cockpit. "Right, young Skywalker is. Returned, the Jedi Order has."

"They're in the Temple," Obi-Wan muttered. "We have to _do_ something!"

"Particularly since the Imperials just figured it out," Anakin added.

The cockpit exploded into motion as everyone rushed towards the exit ramp. Just as they began to disembark, stormtroopers appeared. The entire dock went silent and still as the realization registered on both sides before Han and Chewbacca open fired on the troops. Everyone else dove for cover.

"Get to the Temple!" Han shouted. "Chewie and I will hold them off here!"

Obi-Wan, Luke, and Yoda activated their lightsabers and deflected a few blaster bolts, leading Padmé and Leia out of the hangar. Anakin and Dooku, however, were going a different direction.

"We'll leave them to their Jedi business," Anakin said to the fellow Sith Lord. "We have an emperor to catch,"

* * *

Luke couldn't believe it. He hadn't known what to think of it on the cockpit until his father had confirmed it.

The Jedi were _alive_, and not just one or two, but _thousands_. Leia exchanged a worried glance with him as they ran behind Yoda and Ben, who were leading the way. Padmé brought up the rear, shooting down any pursuers.

"Now I know where you got your blaster skills from, Leia," Luke laughed halfheartedly.

Leia could only nod as they desperately tried to keep up with the two Jedi Masters up front.

"How could a gnome so short run so _fast_?" Leia panted.

"The same way he does everything that should technically be impossible," Luke replied.

They continued to run for what seemed an hour before suddenly stopping dead in their tracks. Up ahead loomed the wrecked Jedi Temple, and they could hear blaster fire. Apparently the fight for the Order's survival had already begun.

Yoda and Ben, who had deactivated their lightsabers after leaving the hangar, reactivated them once again. The blades hissed to life and the two Jedi Masters immediately jumped all the way from where they were to the top of the grand stairs leading into the Temple's main entranceway.

Luke activated his green lightsaber once again and struck down the nearest stormtrooper. Padmé and Leia flanked him with their blasters already firing.

"Stay close to me!" he shouted over the din.

The three Skywalkers ran right into the battle.

* * *

Obi-Wan and Yoda ran ahead, taking out any troopers who stood in their way.

"Organized, the Jedi need to be," Yoda instructed Obi-Wan. "Hold off the stormtroopers here, I will."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, Master,"

Leaving the aged Jedi Master to deal with the waves of Imperials trying to enter the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan ran ahead, sensing more stormtroopers ahead. Apparently they were all over the Temple.

Remembering the battles from the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan immediately began planning how to win this one. He had to organize the Jedi just as Yoda had said, but to do that, he had to find the Jedi… and do so before the Imperials wiped them out.

Obi-Wan found a handful of Padawans soon after running up the main stairs into a raised hallway. They were being bogged down by some troops.

Running up from behind, Obi-Wan took out eight of them before the Padawans finished them off.

"Master Kenobi?" One of the Padawans asked in disbelief.

"Do you know where any of the others are?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Some Knights were defending a youngling clan just down the corridor, Master," a Bothan Padawan informed him. "We were separated from the group when more troopers came,"

Considering his options, Obi-Wan motioned for them to follow. "Come with me,"

The group of eleven Jedi ran down the hallway towards the source of the nearest sound of blaster fire. When the turned the corner, Obi-Wan caught sight of the Knights; one of them was wounded.

Cursing under his breath, Obi-Wan charged ahead with the Padawans and they quickly overpowered the stormtroopers. The Knights immediately looked to Obi-Wan for orders.

"You five," he motioned towards five of them. "Take these two Padawans and remain hidden by the main stairs. Take out any stormtrooper that enters the area. You are to be snipers, so don't make yourselves known unless you have to. Don't let any of the troopers pass through… however, if one does manage to get by, don't pursue them or you'll be overrun."

Obi-Wan then selected three Padawans and four Knights. "You seven will stay here. If any troopers get past the first group, thin out their numbers here,"

The two groups bowed and quickly went to their positions. There were now ten Knights and seven Padawans left. Obi-Wan pointed out another three Padawans and four Knights. "You seven guard the parallel side of this corridor,"

The seven rushed down the hall.

"The rest of you are with me," Obi-Wan instructed them.

Five Knights assisted the injured Jedi while the Padawans kept a lookout. The injury wasn't too serious but it was enough to slow them down.

Thinking it over, Obi-Wan said nothing and led the group down the hallway before reaching the turbolifts. These led all throughout the Temple and were very important.

"You," Obi-Wan said to the wounded Knight. "Find a vantage point and keep a lookout here. If any stormtroopers come, alert all the Jedi in the area telepathically. In the meantime, focus on treating that wound of yours."

Obi-Wan left the Knight, who quickly disappeared into some shaded higher ground. He began climbing the stairs by the turbolifts with the rest of the Jedi following closely.

_One level down,_ Obi-Wan thought. _That leaves about one thousand more to go.

* * *

_

Padmé ducked as a blaster bolt nearly hit her on the shoulder. This was getting pretty intense.

Apparently the only stormtroopers that had fighting were the ones stationed to guard the Temple, but they had quickly called for reinforcements, which were coming in waves of hundreds. There was no way they could keep this up with only four of them.

Yoda was fighting them up inside the Jedi Temple, but Luke, Leia, and Padmé were still outside trying to _get_ inside.

Padmé turned quickly and shot down three more while Leia covered her. Luke was up ahead, having made a little more progress and clearing a path for the women.

Picking up a second blaster that was near a dead Imperial, Padmé managed to shoot down the rest that were separating them from Luke, but they still had a long way to go before they reached the top. They were practically _swimming_ in an ocean of stormtroopers. It was a miracle they hadn't been shot yet.

"If we don't get inside we're going to be killed!" Padmé shouted to Luke.

Luke nodded. "I'm going as fast as I can, Mother!"

The three continued their slow crawl up the stairs as another near-fatal miss shot by Padmé and ricocheted off the wall.

Finally they managed to reach the top and ran into the entranceway. Yoda was up ahead, jumping, twisting, and flipping to compensate for his height as he struck down stormtroopers by the dozen.

Padmé pointed out some debris to her daughter. "Take cover over there."

"What about you?"

Padmé motioned towards some wreckage on the other side of the room. "I'm going there."

The two separated and ran towards their respective posts as Luke joined Yoda in the center. At least they had more of a chance to hold the Imperials off here. The entranceway would thin them out in a bottleneck fashion, allowing for them to be held off.

Some troopers managed to slip by Yoda and didn't concern themselves with trying to kill the Jedi Master. Padmé shot four out of five of them before they began rushing up the stairs.

"Stars' end," she cursed before beginning to stand up.

Suddenly, a lightsaber came out of nowhere and flew down, beheading the stormtrooper before returning to its original place on top of a giant statue of a long-dead Jedi and deactivating once more.

Looks like Obi-Wan managed to put up a few surprises for them.

* * *

Things weren't looking that great for Han and Chewbacca. More stormtroopers were coming in and there was no way the two of them could held the waves of Imperials off forever.

"This isn't working!" Han yelled at the Wookiee. "Go inside and get on the turret!"

Chewbacca asked about him.

"I'll be on the top of the ramp so you can't hit me!" Han replied. "Just get going!"

Han stepped out from his hiding place behind the landing ramp and shot some more troopers, allowing Chewbacca to board the _Falcon_ once more. An explosion from a blaster bolt nearby caused him to fall back.

Cursing, he peeked out and fired off a few shots, quickly jumping on the landing ramp and getting to the top, hiding around the door before returning to fending them off.

"Any day now, Chewie," he yelled down the hall.

Suddenly the turret underneath the _Falcon_ began firing at the doorway to the hangar to collapse the overhanging material, which it did. Rubble blocked the exits; they were trapped, but no more Imperials could get in… at least _that _way.

Han managed to shoot off the remainder of troops still locked inside and then took a deep breath to calm down as he replaced the energy pack on his blaster. "That was close,"

* * *

Luke gritted his teeth as he focused on deflecting the blaster bolts that were flying in his direction. It wasn't easy, but it would've been a _lot_ worse if Yoda weren't there.

Leia and their mother were flanking the main entranceway, using the debris as cover. Just as Luke turned around, a stormtrooper who would've shot him before he could have reacted dropped dead as Padmé got him with a direct hit. Nearby, Yoda brought down a few more who would have overpowered Luke.

Although their teamwork was extremely effective, it wouldn't last for long. There were too many of them!

* * *

Obi-Wan had gotten quite a few Jedi guards stationed at different vantage points throughout the first few dozen levels of the Temple. From there, it was just a matter of calling for the rest of the Jedi; there were no other stormtroopers.

Occasionally Obi-Wan would sense his Jedi sentries taking out a handful of stormtroopers that would get past Yoda, but none of them managed to get to the turbolifts. By then, Obi-Wan had enough Jedi gathered to create half an army.

Obi-Wan had even found Jedi that _didn't_ die at the Jedi Temple, such as Rahm Kota, Shaak Ti, and his friend Garen Muln.

Kota was a military mastermind, so the two began strategizing how best to adjust to the situation and take care of the Imperials without suffering too many casualties. They assigned two Masters, fifteen Knights, and about twenty Padawans to guard the top three levels where the younglings would be protected. The rest were sorted into four squadrons: Purple Squadron, Green Squadron, Yellow Squadron, and Blue Squadron, all named after lightsaber crystal colors. Kota would lead the Green Squadron while Obi-Wan led the Blue Squadron. Mace Windu, of course, led the Purple Squadron, and Shaak Ti led the Yellow Squadron.

The two Masters who were patrolling the youngling area, Cin Drallig and Aayla Secura, were splitting the Knights and Padawans into different sentry shifts.

As Obi-Wan, Rahm, Mace, and Shaak discussed plans, Obi-Wan sensed more Imperials on the move. The other Masters sensed it as well.

"Obi-Wan, you'd better get Blue Squadron head down there," Mace Windu instructed. "Green Squadron will be your reinforcements. Call for them only if you have to."

Obi-Wan nodded and stood up. "Don't worry, we'll—"

Then Obi-Wan stopped in mid-sentence. He hadn't realized until now that the _we_ he was referring to—that being him and Anakin—was not a _we_ but an _I_.

Where in the _blazes_ was Anakin?!

* * *

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	28. The Beginning of the End

Anakin and Dooku went through the dark alleys to make their way towards the Imperial Palace. Anakin led the way since Dooku had never even seen the palace before. They ran in silence, not needing any communication to confirm what they were going to do. The answer, after all, was plain and simple: they would get their revenge on Palpatine.

Palpatine had ruined them both. Anakin admitted that he was foolish enough to fall for the Sith Lord's ploy—he wasn't sure Dooku could possibly fathom laying his pride aside to admit it as well—but he was already punishing himself for that, and now it was Palpatine's turn. Besides, last time he killed him it wasn't very satisfying, not to mention he didn't live much longer afterwards to enjoy it.

Anakin turned sharply at the next alleyway and paused. They had reached the palace, but it was guarded on all sides by security. Of course, Anakin was Darth Vader; he knew every nook and cranny of the Imperial Palace like the back of his hand. He would easily be able to find a way to sneak in.

Stopping and examining the palace, Anakin waited for Dooku to come up beside him. "There are some blind spots which we can exploit,"

"Blind spots in a place like this? Surely Palpatine isn't that foolish," Dooku replied.

"When I say blind, I mean through security feeds," Anakin explained. "However, Palpatine has other means of protection as well."

The two Sith Lords examined the perimeter before Anakin found one of the blind spots.

Dooku smiled as they decided upon a way to get in. "Perfect,"

"We should be seeing Palpatine in about…" Anakin estimated the time it would take to reach Palpatine's throne room. "Half an hour,"

* * *

He had expected the Imperials… what he _didn't_ expect was the spectators.

Coruscanti citizens were watching the battle, cheering the Jedi on. Many grabbed weapons from fallen stormtroopers and even joined in the battle.

Obi-Wan was surprised but he was also frustrated. It was wonderful that these people wished to aid them, but they weren't experienced fighters and were just getting in the way… not to mention the last thing anyone needed was civilian casualties.

Obi-Wan grabbed three Knights, a Master, and five Padawans. "Get these people out of here!"

The Jedi rushed ahead, making their way towards the rioting crowds.

Obi-Wan led the rest of his Jedi into an assault, raining down on the Imperials. When he noticed that the snipers atop statues wished to join, he motioned for them to wait for a while longer.

"Ben, there you are!" Luke shouted out. Obi-Wan ran to cover him as they continued to cut down troopers.

"I had to organize them," Obi-Wan explained breathlessly.

Luke laughed but he looked exhausted. Obi-Wan realized that the boy might have been struck down if they arrived any later.

"Luke, go up the main stairs with this Padawan," he told him as he called a Padawan over. "He'll lead you to our outpost. When you arrive there, tell the Jedi that you're going to be part of Yellow Squadron."

Luke looked a little confused but he nodded and obeyed nonetheless, following the Padawan out of the ravaged entranceway. Sighing, Obi-Wan wished that Anakin could listen as well as his son.

This brought the question of where in the blazes Anakin had gone. Obi-Wan prayed that he was not actually foolish enough to try revenge, but he definitely did not put it past the former Sith Lord.

Obi-Wan managed to get near Yoda as the latter swirled in a deadly haze of green. The Jedi Master certainly had held his own ground.

Blue Squadron was doing its job well; the Imperials were beginning to fall back. Unfortunately, there was one last hurdle in their way:

Reinforcements.

* * *

Anakin and Dooku swiftly and stealthily made their way through the Imperial Palace and rushed into a stairwell; if they took the turbolift, they would be at the mercy of the Imperials stationed at the security posts. The two Sith Lords remained silent, preparing for their confrontation. Anakin could practically smell the acrid smell of burnt flesh as he imagined cutting off Palpatine's right hand, which the latter had done to Anakin when the Rebels destroyed the first Death Star. There were many atrocities that Palpatine had committed against Anakin, and Anakin was going to take the Emperor's advice and be a true Sith Lord:

He would take his revenge.

Silence reigned supreme as the two Sith Lords sprinted up the stairs.

* * *

Padmé grimaced when she saw the reinforcements. There were _hundreds_ of them… after all this _was_ the Imperial Center, the home base for the Galactic Empire.

She gritted her teeth as she began firing as rapidly as she could without overheating her blaster. When her power pack ran low, she cursed and jumped over the rubble, grabbing two more blasters. A Jedi Knight immediately flanked her and protected her as she returned to her hiding place. Another Jedi began to guard Leia as well.

Off in the distance, Padmé could see Obi-Wan and Yoda fighting off the front lines as the other Jedi fanned out or waited behind for any Imperials who managed to get past the Jedi Masters.

The battle seemed to last an eternity as Padmé fought alongside her Jedi protector… good Force, saying that reminded her of when she and Anakin traveled to Naboo just before the Clone War.

Padmé suddenly wondered where Anakin was. She had assumed at the beginning that he ran ahead with Obi-Wan to organize the Jedi, but then she shook her head, realizing that thinking something like that was foolish; Anakin was not the same person he used to be, and he would _not_ stay in the very temple he brought to ruin, let alone _protect _it. However, if he was not helping at the Jedi Temple, then where was he?

* * *

Han and Chewbacca sat waiting on the landing ramp of the _Millennium Falcon_ as they heard blaster fire outside. They knew those Imperials were just _dying_ to claw their way into the hangar.

Sighing, Han stood up. "We don't have time to wait for these blasted Imperials to get through. Fire the engines up; we're getting out of here."

Chewbacca protested, saying that the others needed them.

"What did you think I was going to do, run away?" Han asked. "Honestly, I thought you'd have more faith in me."

Chewbacca let out a grunt that resembled a snort. Han eyed him irritably before the two climbed into the ship. They entered the cockpit and started the _Falcon_, doing faster-than-light pre-flight checks and taking off. They heard ricochets of blaster fire bouncing about but it was not serious enough to affect the ship.

Han maneuvered the _Falcon_ towards a shadier side of the Works and found one of the many abandoned hangars, landing there.

"There," Han said as he deactivated the ship so sensors could not find her. "It'll make the walk a little tedious but at least we'll get there."

Han grabbed his favorite blaster as Chewbacca grabbed a guided missile launcher and a bowcaster. The two then set out and began the long trek to the Jedi Temple.

* * *

The long dark hallway, the richly carpeted floors, the potted plants against the wall, the dull sense of dread and fear that floated in the air… these were all familiar feelings and sights to Anakin.

They were now in the corridor that led to the throne room, which was where Anakin and Dooku had both sensed a very fidgety and wary Palpatine. Anakin knew that Palpatine was no fool; he had no doubt sensed Anakin and Dooku in the hall. There was even the possibility that he had sensed them earlier despite their use of the dark side to remain hidden, but Anakin doubted it; Palpatine felt a little too panicked.

Anakin could sense the fear in his former master. He knew that Palpatine was fully aware of the fact that there could only be one reason two of his former apprentices were paying him a visit. However, on top of the fear was anger. Palpatine wanted to get rid of Dooku; he was no longer useful. When it came to Anakin, though, he could sense fiendish plots developing in the emperor's mind. That piece of sithspit still wanted him.

Just as they began nearing the throne room, a wall of stormtroopers appeared, blocking their way. Anakin growled in frustration; getting rid of the troopers would not be much of a problem, but it would be tedious and time consuming, and that was all Palpatine would need to make whatever move he intended upon making.

Dooku rushed ahead and began cutting down troopers. Anakin knew that the man desired revenge almost as much as Anakin, but he would not have Dooku getting in his way.

Rushing towards the troopers, Anakin instead jumped clear over them, leaving the older Sith behind. He'd let Dooku handle the Imperials while he handled their emperor.

Surprisingly enough, Dooku did not seem to react horribly to this action. In fact, he continued fighting and shouted out, "Make sure you strike him down with some finesse!"

Anakin smiled and nodded at Dooku before walking to the door that led to his triumph and to Palpatine's demise.

* * *

They were almost there. He could see the door at the very end of the hallway. He could feel his former master's presence emanating from the room. Dooku smiled; this would be quite… enjoyable.

Unfortunately, his moment was ruined when more troopers than he cared to count blocked his and Skywalker's path.

Containing a growl of frustration, Dooku rushed ahead and began hacking down troopers two at a time. Skywalker, however, seemed to think it below him and leapt over the whole group.

Although Dooku expected to feel betrayed and infuriated, he actually felt unnervingly calm. He realized that it was the boy's destiny after all; as the Chosen One, it was up to him to defeat the emperor.

Suddenly the thought of revenge seemed so empty. Wasn't it such thoughts as these that got him into the situation of being enslaved to Palpatine in the first place?

_When you fall, catch you I will!_

Dooku shoved the memory of what Yoda had said during the Clone Wars to the back of his mind. Now was _not_ the time. Instead, he opted for some words toward Skywalker to finish the job for him. "Make sure you strike him down with some finesse!"

Skywalker turned slightly and nodded, offering a cruel yet reassuring smile. He then disappeared from view behind the horde of stormtroopers. Vaguely, Dooku wondered why they did not turn to fight Skywalker; he _was_, after all, right behind them.

Getting a nasty feeling in his gut, Dooku decided that it would probably be prudent to alert the Jedi, particularly Obi-Wan, that Palpatine and Skywalker would soon be facing off. At least Obi-Wan deserved to know considering he was Skywalker's master.

* * *

Luke suppressed an exasperated sigh as he sat in the Jedi headquarters, waiting for his turn to come. He also spent the time resting.

The squadron that Obi-Wan had told him to join, Yellow Squadron, was the _last_ reinforcement. It would only be used if need be. Luke didn't know if he was being complemented or babysat. Since it was the last squadron, it was probably one of the strongest—if not the strongest, but that also meant that he would have to wait and rest. Obi-Wan probably sent him up here because he did not want him getting hurt during the battle.

Luke could understand Ben's intentions but it was still a little annoying. He had realized during the battle that his training was nowhere near perfect, particularly when he witnessed Padawans fairing better than he did, but he did not need to be treated by a youngling.

Sighing, Luke recalled his father's words on the trip to Alderaan.

"_Young boy, you're barely a Padawan. If you and I had dueled on the Death Star when I was younger, you would be dead. You're too slow and stiff."_

Luke looked at his lightsaber in defeat. Maybe his father was right after all…

Suddenly, Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, Rahm Kota, and Cin Drallig stiffened, their eyes growing unfocused. When they came to, they looked at each other in grim silence.

"We can't just leave him alone to face Palpatine," Master Secura said. "Palpatine _wants_ that."

Master Kota nodded. "I agree. Although I never met the boy in real life, hearing about him was enough to tell me that Palpatine has a powerful sway over him."

"What's going on?" Luke asked the Masters.

Master Ti looked at him. "Your father has engaged Palpatine."

Luke dropped his jaw. "_What?_ I—he—I knew he wasn't here, but—when did he even _get_ there?"

"Apparently he and Count Dooku have been keeping themselves quite busy," Master Kota sighed.

Master Windu grimly looked at the other Jedi. "I'll go to the Imperial Palace. Kota, you come with me. The rest of you should stay here."

"What about me?" Luke protested. "He _is_ my father, you know."

"Where we are going is not a place where you should be," Master Ti advised.

"I've dealt with Palpatine before!"

"Yes, you are quite right about that," the Togruta Jedi replied. "But you are not acquainted with team fighting with other Jedi; I'm afraid to say you'll only get in the way. The best way you can help is remaining here and protecting the temple."

Luke was reassigned from being in Yellow Squadron to leading Green Squadron. Purple Squadron combined with the other two.

Master Windu and Master Kota quickly set out toward the Imperial Palace. Luke prayed they would get there in time.

* * *

Obi-Wan teamed up with Jedi Master Stass Allie and the two performed a massive Force push to knock the Imperials back, allowing the Jedi to charge. Just as he finished this move, he heard Count Dooku's voice in his mind.

_Skywalker has engaged Palpatine._

Obi-Wan nearly dropped his lightsaber. _What?_ When did Anakin—how…?

Shaking his head and grumbling under his breath, Obi-Wan leapt forward, flipping in the air to avoid some stray blaster shots, and landed in the thick of the Imperial army, maintaining a strong defense by using his lightsaber style of Soresu. Off in the distance, he sensed Mace and Rahm cutting into the army to catch up.

Despite the earlier attempts to block the citizens from harm, they had overrun the small group of Jedi Obi-Wan had sent and were now firing upon the Imperials, who were being bogged down on all sides, including the center where Obi-Wan—quickly joined by Mace and Rahm—stood. The battle was won.

With the crowds cheering as the Imperial force was obliterated, Yoda also caught up with the group.

"Hurry, we must," he said.

The four Jedi Masters made their way through the crowds and began to run towards the Imperial Palace, cutting down any stray stormtroopers along the way.

* * *

She had been sitting there curled underneath the dejarik table for what seemed like hours, praying that the Imperials wouldn't get in. When she heard the only two inhabitants left wandering around and exiting the ramp once again, she had dared to hope that it was safe, but they hadn't returned.

"_Your brother is dead. You can stare into nothingness from now until you die and it won't make a difference. He's gone and he's not coming back. Sitting here like some idiot isn't helping him. You know your brother's probably in heaven watching you and saying what a baby you are? Look up, girl. Look up at the ceiling. Up there, outside of this galaxy, your brother is watching you. Do you want to make him proud or are you going to sit here and mope over something that's already happened? Get off of your asteroid and get a grip! Look at me, girl. Crying isn't going to change it. Tears make you weak. They only slow you down. Your brother is dead and you just sit around and cry; does it change anything? Tell me: does it change anything?"_

Crying _didn't_ change anything… but why did he have to die?

In her mind she could hear screams of joy, terror, pain, and surprise. She could hear an odd humming and crackling sound, too. She saw images of blades made of light clashing, one blue and one red. She saw stormtroopers, and warriors clad similarly to the guy who had shaken her on the ship.

She remembered the conversation that one of those warriors had been having with the nice lady helping her.

"_We do believe that Jenna Zan Arbor was experimenting on him because he was Force sensitive."_

"_The boy was Force sensitive? Does that mean that she…?"_

"_It's possible,"_

She had heard of Force sensitive people before; her mother had told her stories about them and had said that they were great people who had been killed by the Empire. She had never told her what they were called for fear that Aaliza would speak out of turn about them.

Maybe those warriors and Force sensitive people were the same? Aaliza didn't know. What she _did_ know was that she was stuck on a ship while everyone else was fighting the scariest people in the galaxy.

Another thing she knew was that she wanted to help. She wanted to help the man in black who had talked to her on the ship after her brother had died, telling her that crying wouldn't help. She wanted to help the nice lady who had comforted her. She wanted to help the nice lady's children. She wanted to help the man who had been talking to the nice lady. She wanted to help the Wookiee and the pilot; she even wanted to help the weird gnome and the scary-looking old man. Most of all, she wanted to help her brother.

"_Look up, girl. Look at the ceiling. Up there, outside of this galaxy, your brother is watching you. Do you want to make him proud or are you going to sit here and mope over something that's already happened?"_

Aaliza stood up, searching the ship before walking towards the landing ramp. She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes.

"Jon, I'm gonna make you proud," she whispered. "I promise,"

Recognizing the pilot and his Wookiee companion off in the distance, Aaliza ran off the ramp to join them.

* * *

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	29. Darkness Lifted

Anakin watched him sit in his throne. Palpatine looked at him very calmly… _unnervingly_ calmly. Anakin could have sworn he sensed panic and anger from him earlier… was that a front? Was Palpatine merely manipulating him as he had been for decades?

Anakin balled his fists and let his anger course through but then a tiny voice reminded him that Palpatine probably wanted that. Angry at himself and the situation, Anakin stood there just watching Palpatine.

"Welcome, Lord Vader," Palpatine said in a silky tone.

There were two reasons why Palpatine would speak with such a tone in his voice. The first reason was that he was infuriated over something and let the venom leak into his words. The second reason was that everything was going just as he had planned and in that case there is an intense pleasure behind his words.

In this case, Anakin detected nothing negative or aggressive in his tone. He was pleased about something. Something was going his way.

Anakin had a sick feeling that with his arrival to duel with Palpatine was part of the reason.

"You seem rather worried about something," Palpatine voiced. Anakin cursed his foolishness and automatically raised his mental barriers. "Is the Jedi uprising bothering you? You've killed every last one of them before."

Hearing about his murders from Palpatine only infuriated him all the worse. Anakin immediately grabbed his lightsaber, but he did not activate it.

"You should know better than to think that I would join you once again, _Master_," Anakin spat disdainfully.

"Ah, but you are unaware that you are already under my control once again," Palpatine's tone went even silkier.

Feeling violated, Anakin took a slight step back.

Palpatine stood up from his throne, looking thoroughly content. He knew he had Anakin, and the thought disturbed Anakin all the more. He came here to _kill_ Palpatine, not get tempted by him _once again_ into being an idiot and following his lead.

"Don't try anything, Palpatine," Anakin warned. "I'm not going to fall for it again."

Palpatine laughed mirthlessly. "You still do not see that I already control you. No matter how hard you try, you are already mine."

_Of course_, Anakin thought. Palpatine was using Dun Möch, or intimidation to get to him that was all. Anakin wouldn't have that. He immediately activated his lightsaber, feeling comfortable as he gripped his old weapon, something he hadn't done in over twenty years.

"You're not fooling me, Palpatine," Anakin said with a new confidence in his tone.

Palpatine remained still, but Anakin didn't give him the chance to make any more devious plots.

Anakin charged forward, taking the offensive. He wasn't going to be fooled by Palpatine's supposed helplessness; he knew that conniving little emperor had something up his sleeve.

His assumption was correct. The moment he got into range, Palpatine tried to release Force lightning, but Anakin quickly blocked it with his lightsaber. He couldn't quite direct it back though.

The lightning lasted for about a minute and then the red blade hissed to life in Palpatine's hand, and the two Sith Lords charged forward into battle.

* * *

"You're _not_ coming with us," Han said firmly. "We're going into a _battle_ not a _playground_, kid."

"I want to help," the girl argued.

Han sighed. Aaliza had shown up just five minutes ago and they were _still_ arguing about whether she could go or not. Chewbacca and Han were both against it but she wouldn't give up, and they didn't have time to drag her back to the _Falcon_ themselves.

"Fine," he growled. "But you have to listen to _everything_ we tell you, is that clear?"

Aaliza nodded. Chewbacca grumbled, saying that he didn't like the idea.

"I don't either but she won't give up," Han pointed out as they led her out of the Works towards the Jedi Temple.

When they reached the Temple they expected some sort of battle but what they found was the leftovers from the battlefield. There were corpses of stormtroopers everywhere. In the main entranceway, Han could see Jedi moving about gathering the wounded. Chewbacca led the way up the stairs as they rushed into the Temple. Han immediately found Luke.

"Kid, what happened? What did we miss?"

"Well I think it's pretty obvious that a battle took place," Luke motioned towards the carnage.

"You sound a little worried," Han noted. "What's wrong?"

"It's my father," Luke said.

"What has Vader done _this_ time?"

"He's fighting Palpatine right now."

Han's jaw dropped. "He's fighting his precious _emperor_?"

"Han, he hates Palpatine's guts," Luke leaned against the wall, anxiety in his body language. "He's trying to get revenge and kill Palpatine."

"So he can take the throne," Han finished.

"No," Luke replied, sounding confused. "Why would he do that? He's not interested in the throne, just revenge."

"Well, that's funny," Han leaned against the wall beside Luke. "Because if you really think about it, Vader's next in line for the throne if Palpatine dies."

Luke thought about it for a moment before shaking it off. "That's not the point. The point is that he's fighting him and he could get himself killed."

"Well then why are you standing around?"

Luke blinked and then laughed. "Good point, Han."

With that comment, Luke stood up straight and then began to rush down the stairs with Han following close behind. Off in the distance, Padmé and Leia noticed and began to run after them with Chewbacca and Aaliza in tow.

* * *

Obi-Wan ran as hard as he could. The Imperial Palace was beginning to loom ever closer, but it didn't seem close enough. He could already sense that Anakin and Palpatine were fighting ferociously. He could practically hear their blades clashing.

Behind him, Mace and Rahm looked up at the palace, also sensing the disturbance. Yoda, who was leading the group, increased his speed almost tenfold, forcing the other Masters to do the same so they could keep up.

What seemed an eternity later, they finally began to arrive in the area and were immediately bogged down by stormtroopers and auto turrets. However, with the four Masters working together in perfect harmony, it didn't take them long to defeat their opponents.

As they ran inside and began heading towards the throne room on the top floor, they continuously had to cut down more Imperials. Obi-Wan began tiring slightly when they were halfway up, but he called upon the Force to help him. He couldn't afford to lose any time, not with Anakin's life on the line.

_Hang in there, Anakin.

* * *

_

Palpatine was ferocious as a lightsaber dueler, but he wasn't as in shape as Anakin, who would gain the upper hand before being blasted into a wall by a massive Force push or a dose of Force lightning.

By the time he had been thrown against the wall for the fifth time, blood began trickling down his neck and he started getting really irritated. Kicking his feet off the wall to get some more speed and momentum, Anakin charged towards Palpatine and they once again engaged in the deadly dance.

Anakin thrust once, twice, three times around Palpatine to divert his blade and open up his defenses, but Palpatine was no fool and managed to block them without wasting too much energy. It was rather like Soresu, actually. How did one break Soresu?

Anakin nearly cracked a smile. Obi-Wan was a master of Soresu, and Anakin had defeated him. All he had to do was tire his opponent. Soresu kept the defenses very close to the body, so if Anakin could make Palpatine move his blade just far enough, it would be perfect.

He had this thought so clearly in his mind that he barely had time to register another burst of Force lightning heading his way.

Cursing, Anakin deflected it this time and managed to throw some back at Palpatine, who quickly ceased the attack, leaving him temporarily open. Anakin immediately charged forward but jumped over Palpatine instead of attacking as planned. The moment he landed he sent a back-handed gripped stab but Palpatine blocked it, leaving _Anakin_ temporarily open to attack; Anakin, however, quickly compensated by using the Force to push Palpatine off to a safe distance. Anakin regained his footing and then faced Palpatine once again, not leaving any time to wait as he rushed forward. He brought his blade in an upward arch before sending it down towards Palpatine at a mind numbing speed. When Palpatine blocked the blow, the energy following it nearly sent the emperor to his knees, allowing for Anakin to at least get a good kick on his chin.

Palpatine smashed against the wall as Anakin repeatedly used the Force to send waves against him, weakening him. After taunting him this way, Palpatine seemed to get pretty angry and finally hit Anakin directly with some Force lightning. Anakin crumbled to the ground in pain and Palpatine would not stop. It seemed as if this would go on for an eternity, but Anakin finally managed to focus his strength and use the Force to deflect the blast, sending Palpatine flying. This gave Anakin time to shake off the muscle spasms and stand up once again, grabbing his lightsaber and tightening his grip.

Anakin didn't give Palpatine any time to recover. Using the Force to increase his speed, he ran across the room and began attacking once again. As Anakin's attacks grew more furious, so did Palpatine's parries. Anakin feigned to the left in an attempt to deter the emperor and then twirled to Palpatine's right before aiming a slash to his spine. Palpatine dodged it and counterattacked, but Anakin quickly blocked the red blade.

It was clear now that Palpatine was beginning to tire ever so slightly. Anakin was too. Both Sith Lords could sense it. This battle had to end.

Grabbing all of his strength and reserves, Anakin released it all in one last assault. He didn't think he'd ever attacked more ferociously, sent more thrusts, or blocked more swings in any lightsaber duel, even Mustafar.

_Mustafar_…

Remembering that lightsaber duel was all Anakin needed to get his rage up once again… _Palpatine_ was the one who brought that down upon him. If it weren't for the emperor, Anakin would never have been bothered about the dark side. He would've lived his life as a Jedi alongside Obi-Wan. He would've been able to raise his two children. He would've been there for Padmé.

Hatred that he hadn't experienced since his duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar began to make its way out into his dueling. He had felt hatred towards Palpatine for years, but it had always been a low dull sort of hatred that had eaten away at his very being. The hatred he had experienced while dueling Obi-Wan was like _fire_. Now that fire was back, as if he were on the lava bank of Mustafar again, except this time it was directed at the man who had ruined his life, the man who had ruined the entire galaxy.

Thrust, parry, strike, feign, block… the duel continued for an impossible amount of time. Even with his hatred, he began to tire. A voice told him that using the dark side against Palpatine was foolish, but what could he do? He hadn't accessed the light for twenty-four years.

Remembering how Luke had never given up on him, he surmised that maybe it wasn't too late to start trying once again.

Anakin began to center himself as he dueled. He began to calm the hatred and tried to reach out towards something from the light. What could make him do so? What memory could spur him into fighting as a Jedi? He hadn't had a good memory in decades…

And then he remembered.

"_Ani, I'm pregnant,"_

Those words had terrified him and yet filled him with joy. He had realized that with children his secret marriage wouldn't stay secret for long, but then he had decided that he didn't care. He had been excited and happy to be a father, even if it had only lasted for a few days.

_Love_. Love was part of the light.

Anakin was suddenly bombarded by memories of Padmé, his mother, and Obi-Wan.

"_You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you, but I could not save you."_

Anakin suddenly wanted to be dueling alongside with Obi-Wan but he knew it was too late for that. Once he had entered this duel with Palpatine he had known that.

And now he would end it.

Giving into the will of the Force, Anakin finally made a blow on Palpatine just as the latter was about to strike back. Anakin swung his lightsaber horizontally, right across Palpatine's neck.

An odd feeling erupted in his gut as he watched Palpatine's decapitated body fall. When he looked down, he realized that the feeling was a wound. Palpatine's red lightsaber was still activated in his gut, piercing all the way through.

* * *

Almost there… almost there…

Obi-Wan panted as he finally reached the top. The sound of blaster fire rang in his eardrums. Yoda led the three Jedi Masters into the corridor to reveal Dooku cutting down the last of what seemed to be a huge resistance of Imperials trying to protect Palpatine. Apparently Dooku had been doing this for quite some time.

"I see you took your time to arrive," Dooku grumbled. Something about him seemed different.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan felt a fire in his gut. He couldn't explain it until he belatedly realized that it came from the bond between him and Anakin that he had thought was long gone.

"Anakin!" he breathed as he ran ahead past the other Jedi, bursting into the throne room. What he saw made him remain rooted to the spot.

The scene played in slow motion. He saw Anakin's lightsaber finishing its swing as Palpatine's now decapitated body fell to the ground. Just before the last moment came, Palpatine thrust his red blade into Anakin's gut, although the boy didn't react to it until a millisecond later, and Obi-Wan almost two consecutive seconds after that.

"_NO!"_

Anakin collapsed to the ground as the blade deactivated. Obi-Wan, blind with panic, rushed over towards the boy and fell to his knees beside him. The other Jedi ran into the room.

Obi-Wan cradled Anakin's body in his arms, tears leaking out freely. "Force, no…"

Obi-Wan held Anakin close and closed his eyes from the horror of the truth. He begged the Force, asking for some mercy and compassion. He had finally gotten Anakin back and yet the Force deemed it time to tear them apart once more. It was almost as painful as having the realization that his former Padawan had turned to the dark side.

Even though that previous incident had been more traumatic, the conglomeration of all the tragedies Obi-Wan had to endure of the years made this one unbearable.

The only sound in the room was Obi-Wan's sobs. The other four inhabitants were silent.

* * *

**Yeah, I know, a cliffie and a BAD one at that. But please review, and I might update quickly!!!!!!!!!!! :-)**


	30. Finishing the Battle

**I was pretty awful with that cliffie, wasn't it? Hehe, well fear not, for here is the next chapter!!**

* * *

Luke and Han led the way towards the Imperial Palace as Padmé, Leia, Chewbacca, and Aaliza followed.

Padmé had certainly been caught off guard when she saw Aaliza with Han and Chewbacca, but when Chewie explained that the girl would not leave them, she understood their predicament. There was nothing they could do but make sure the girl didn't get in the line of fire.

The group ran as fast as they could towards the Imperial Palace, but they were stopped dead in their tracks about halfway there.

A legion of stormtroopers led by a field commander blocked their path. The two sides immediately began to exchange fire.

* * *

Aaliza screamed and held her hands on her head, crouching down in an alley as the nice lady and her daughter protected her from the stormtroopers. The lady's son charged ahead with a green blade and began sending blaster bolts right back at the troopers who had fired them. The pilot and the Wookiee took cover behind some dumpsters and traded fire with the Imperials.

She had to do something. She didn't want Jon to think of her as a baby. What could she do? What would the guy who had talked to her do?

He would fight back. Aaliza could tell _that_ much.

Aaliza looked around, trying to see what she could do to help. What was there for a ten-year-old to do in a battle?

Seeing a dead stormtrooper, Aaliza winced but then suddenly got an idea. She crawled out of the alleyway but hugged the wall of a building as the exchange continued. Making her way towards the trooper, Aaliza crouched down beside him and pulled his armor off. It horrified her to see a normal-looking person underneath, but when she looked at the commander leading them, she could see that they may look normal but they were bad people. They killed other people. They killed her dad.

Aaliza dragged the armor into another alley. Apparently no one had noticed the Naboo girl, judging from the fact that the battle continued as if she hadn't even been there in the first place.

Slipping the armor awkwardly upon her shoulders and grabbing some splintered wood from one of the many dumpsters, Aaliza began donning the outfit and soon looked like a typical stormtrooper. She was suddenly very thankful that she had played on stilts with Jon back on Naboo.

Aaliza put the helmet on last and looked around as she tiptoed (which looked very odd for a stormtrooper) to the edge of the alley and saw the battle continuing.

She remembered the group talking about finding the two warriors when they first set out towards the Imperial Palace. Maybe she could keep searching for them while this battle raged on. She nodded her head and then looked up.

"You'll see, Jon," she whispered through the helmet, which filtered her voice to make it resound with the same clipped masculine tone as every other stormtrooper. "Just wait and see; I'll find those nice guys and then show that I'm not a baby."

Nodding her head once again, Aaliza snuck down the alley towards the large looming building that towered ahead.

* * *

The sound of sobs echoed about the room softly. Three Jedi Masters stood beside him, offering comfort through the Force and remaining silent to honor the one that died.

Standing in the doorway, Dooku felt very awkward indeed. After all, he had been spending the entire Clone War trying to kill this duo, this unstoppable team, and now, he was watching one mourn the loss of the other. The team was split, torn in half. Obi-Wan Kenobi would never be whole again.

Watching the Jedi Master weep made Dooku uneasy. Kenobi was Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan, therefore making him practically a grandson to Dooku. To see him in such a state made the count's stomach churn uncomfortably. Not to mention that when he really thought about it, with Skywalker as _Kenobi's_ Padawan the boy was practically a _great-grandson_.

Dooku merely watched the scene and began to turn away when he sensed something a little off with the situation… eyes widening, he faced the Jedi once again.

* * *

Obi-Wan continued to hold Anakin and would not let go, sobbing softly as his heart tore once again. Mace Windu remained silent, something that had surprised Obi-Wan; he had expected a rebuke for his behavior from Mace or Rahm Kota. Of course, Yoda could be pretty obnoxious as well, particularly when Obi-Wan recollected the discovery of Anakin's fall to the dark side. Obi-Wan had collapsed, wishing to tear his eyes out so he could never again see the horrid sight of his former Padawan, his friend, his son, his brother bowing to a _Sith Lord_. Yoda had been about as sympathetic as his gimer stick.

Off in the distance, he sensed Dooku begin to leave, feeling a little awkward considering the situation. Obi-Wan didn't care at the time, but any and all thoughts vanished from his mind the instant he sensed it: a Force signature, a life presence. Anakin was still alive.

Immediately, Obi-Wan looked down at his former Padawan in disbelief. The boy was cold and extremely pale, his lips beginning to turn blue. He didn't move. Yet Obi-Wan could sense it clear as day: _he was alive_.

All Obi-Wan could do was breathe ragged gulps of air. He couldn't speak for what seemed an eternity. At the doorway, he sensed Dooku turn around once more, gaping at Anakin. Yoda's face broke into a gentle smile and he placed his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Act quickly, we must," he said.

Just as the Jedi Master was about to speak further, a stormtrooper burst into the room, hitting Dooku head-on and sending them both tumbling to the ground. The stormtrooper groaned and lay on the floor and tried to get up but, for some odd reason, was unable to.

Obi-Wan clutched Anakin closer to him. Kota activated his lightsaber and walked over towards the stormtrooper.

"W-wait!" the stormtrooper said, holding up his hands.

Yoda laughed and Kota and Mace exchanged bewildered glances. Dooku raised his eyebrows in surprise. Obi-Wan didn't understand the odd reaction everyone was having, but he realized that they sensed something he hadn't picked up because of his fierce emotions.

Calming himself, Obi-Wan reached into the Force, feeling Anakin's feeble life presence flickering. He ignored the fact for just a moment to figure out what was going on, and the answer he got allowed him the same reaction as Dooku.

"Aaliza, is that you?" Obi-Wan asked the stormtrooper.

"How did you know?" Aaliza asked, her voice sounding like a full-grown man's through the helmet. "Nobody else figured it out,"

"Have our ways, we do," Yoda laughed.

"How did you get here?" Mace asked.

"I dressed up," Aaliza replied.

"We _know_ that," Kota shook his head, obviously fighting down the urge to laugh.

"Oh,"

"So, how did you get here?"

"I just walked in, I swear," Aaliza insisted. "They thought I was a stormtrooper."

Kota and Mace helped her up and took the helmet off. Seeing a stormtrooper's body with a bright, happy-looking ten-year-old girl's head was a very odd sight. Even Obi-Wan was about to laugh at the odd spectacle.

"Hi!" she said.

"Why did you come here?" Mace asked, getting to the point.

"Oh, right!" Aaliza said. Mace looked exasperated, looking like he was trying to hold back an irritated sigh. "The others were trying to come but some Imperials got in their way! You have to help!"

"The others?" Dooku repeated.

Aaliza nodded. "The nice lady, her children, the pilot, and the fun Wookiee,"

"Why were they coming here?"

"Because they wanted to find you guys,"

Dooku shook his head. "And now they have gotten themselves into a situation and we are forced to rescue them. Somehow I do not find this surprising in the least… but what of Skywalker?"

Everyone turned their attention towards Anakin and Aaliza gasped.

"What happened to him?" she cried.

"Relax, little one," Obi-Wan said softly as she ran—and nearly tripped—over to him. "He's still alive,"

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

"He…" Obi-Wan trailed off. He couldn't tell her that Anakin was dying. "He should be fine,"

Aaliza continued to look worried, but when Kota told her to get out of her stormtrooper outfit she rounded on him. "But they'll know I'm not one of them!"

"You'll be traveling with us," Kota pointed out. "You won't have to worry about them hurting you."

"Where are we going?" Aaliza asked.

"To help your friends," Dooku responded, folding his arms across his chest and assuming an irritated posture. "Since they obviously cannot defend themselves,"

Obi-Wan's earlier assessment about Dooku was right; there _was_ something different about him. He still had his prideful manner and enjoyed words over fighting, but he was actually willing to help. What had come over the fallen Jedi, anyway?

Kota took Aaliza by the hand and followed Dooku out as Mace brought up the rear. Yoda remained in the room and faced Obi-Wan. The two Jedi immediately turned their attention to Anakin.

"He's fading," Obi-Wan whispered.

"Heal him here, we cannot," Yoda pointed out. "But help him along the way, we can,"

Obi-Wan nodded and the two Jedi Masters placed a hand on Anakin's forehead, focusing their energy. They put the boy into a healing trance and then Obi-Wan picked him up and followed Yoda out of the throne room.

* * *

Leia gritted her teeth as she fired off a shot and dodged another. Her mother was having similar luck as well. When Leia had to duck behind the alley to avoid being hit in the chest, she finally noticed a problem: Aaliza was gone.

"Sithspit!" she cursed. "Mother, Aaliza's not in the alley!"

"What? When did she vanish?"

"I don't know, I just noticed!"

Leia heard her mother curse similarly and then she shot down two Imperials before advancing forward, covering Leia as she followed.

"Where's Aaliza?" Luke asked as he deflected blaster bolts.

"She's gone,"

Luke's response was overpowered by the sound of lightsabers activating from up ahead. The remaining stormtroopers were struck down from behind by a purple blade, a red blade, and a green blade. Everyone paused, waiting to see who had saved them.

Out of the carnage walked two Jedi—one carrying Aaliza—and Count Dooku.

"Aaliza how did you…?" Luke gaped, pointing from her to the stormtroopers to the Jedi holding her.

"I helped, didn't I?" Aaliza asked the Jedi, who nodded with a smile.

"Of course you did," he replied. "If it weren't for this little girl we wouldn't have found you guys so quickly."

The Jedi lowered Aaliza and she looked up at the sky for a moment with an innocent grin that could only be worn by a ten-year-old. She had obviously improved greatly since Leia had last seen her; when she had followed them from the Temple she was just as silent as before. Why was she suddenly so bouncy and uppity again?

"Where's father?" Luke asked.

The three exchanged glances before looking back at the group. Leia had a bad feeling about that.

"He's been severely wounded," the Jedi with the purple lightsaber answered. "Master Kenobi and Master Yoda are taking care of him right now."

Padmé's face paled in an instant, along with Luke's. Leia felt worried, but she didn't want to admit it. Anyway, Vader still acted the way he had been before, just a little more… awkward, and less sinister, and...

All right, _fine_; she was worried.

* * *

Padmé did nothing but pace restlessly in the Temple entranceway. They had returned to the Jedi Temple and were awaiting the arrival of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda. They had been waiting for two hours. Something must have happened, Padmé just knew it. That was the only reason why it would take two Jedi Masters so long to bring her husband back.

What had happened at the palace? Padmé could surmise that Anakin had dueled Palpatine, but what were the details? Her assumption had been proven correct when the two Jedi relayed their story. She could tell they left out the details, though; they had just said that he had dueled Palpatine and had defeated the Sith Lord, nothing else.

Panic slowly began creeping into her mind, numbing her brain. Fear ate away as she paced, praying that she wasn't going to be widowed. The family had finally been united for the first time ever; she couldn't have it fall apart again.

After what seemed an eternity of horrible waiting, Padmé saw two figures off in the distance making their way through the throngs of Coruscanti citizens who had gathered in front of the Jedi Temple cheering. The crowds quieted and Padmé heard a murmur begin to creep through the group.

Jedi began to run towards the stairs as they sensed the change in mood. Padmé now clearly saw the crowd moving aside for Obi-Wan and Yoda to pass through. In Obi-Wan's arms was an unconscious and deathly pale Anakin, some blood leaking out of the side of his mouth.

Forgetting any semblance of calm, collected thoughts, Padmé rushed down the stairs followed by Luke and, surprisingly, Leia. Han, holding a worried Aaliza, and Chewbacca stood at the top of the stairs with some Padawans and Knights as the Masters rushed down with the Skywalker family.

"How is he?" she asked breathlessly as she reached the two Jedi.

"Not well," Obi-Wan replied grimly, his eyes glittering with worry. "We have to get him to the medical ward."

Padmé ran alongside Obi-Wan as they rushed inside the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan led the way to the medical ward where many citizens who were mechanics and engineers were repairing broken and outdated medical equipment.

Obi-Wan placed Anakin on the only clean and relatively new cot and the group waited as a Jedi Healer rushed into the area. The healer entered the room and quickly made her way to Anakin's bedside before shooing Padmé, Luke, and Leia out of the room along with the engineers.

Padmé, Luke, and Leia sat in silence in the Halls of Healing, waiting for some sort of update from Obi-Wan or the healer. The informant didn't come until at least three hours later. A Jedi Padawan walked up to the group and looked at the three of them sadly.

"What happened?" Leia asked immediately.

"He has gone into a coma," the Padawan said. "Master Che says she cannot do anything else for him but make him comfortable."

"He can get out of the coma, though, right?" Luke said hesitantly.

The Padawan shook his head. "Master Che says there is still the possibility that he might wake up, but she also says that considering his injuries, it is highly unlikely. She guesses that he… he'll die while comatose."

It obviously pained the Padawan to report this to them and he quickly departed after the shock of what he said settled into the three sitting there in the hallway.

Padmé leaned against the wall and shook her head. "No…"

Luke and Leia walked over to her and the three held each other, weeping.

* * *

Aaliza didn't understand why everyone was so upset. The nice lady and her children were crying in the hallway and the gnome was shaking his head sadly. The two warriors were nowhere to be seen.

Looking for her new friends, Aaliza walked down the hallway and entered into a small room. To the left of the door was a cream colored bed. The room held comforting earth tones.

She found the warrior friend there, but he didn't look too happy. He was leaning over a figure in the bed, crying.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

The man jumped. "Aaliza, what—how did you get in here?"

"I was looking for you and I just thought you might be here," Aaliza replied.

"You thought I might be here," the man replied, sounding curious and confused at the same time. "What, such as a feeling?"

"Yes," Aaliza nodded. She then looked down and remembered something that her mother always told her to do. "I mean, yes, sir,"

The man laughed. "Not quite sir, Aaliza. I never did introduce myself, did I? I don't think anyone did… my name is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. You can just call me Master Kenobi."

"Are Jedi Force sensitive?"

"Why, yes," Master Kenobi laughed. "That is partly what makes us Jedi, Aaliza."

"So _you're_ the ones mommy always told me about!" Aaliza realized.

"That's right," Master Kenobi confirmed, smiling. "The, uh, _nice lady_ is named Padmé Amidala. You address her as Lady Amidala or milady. Her children are Jedi Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. You should call them Jedi Skywalker and Princess Organa. Then, there's Master Yoda."

"What do I call the pilot, the Wookiee, and the black warrior?" Aaliza asked innocently.

"Well, the pilot you call Captain Solo. The Wookiee just likes being called Chewbacca, and…"

Master Kenobi trailed off, a sad expression shadowing his face.

"What about the black warrior and the older man?"

Master Kenobi laughed. "Uh, just call the _old man_ Master—Master, er, Dooku."

"Okay,"

There was a pause before Aaliza asked once again. "What about the black warrior?"

Master Kenobi seemed to be debating something but then he just shook his head. It was then that Aaliza recognized the figure in the bed.

"Oh, Master Kenobi, it's him!" she said, running over to the bedside.

"Yes," Master Kenobi agreed quietly.

The Jedi put his hands on her shoulders comfortingly and they watched the black warrior breath slowly in silence. Then Aaliza looked up at the Jedi Master and noticed that he looked extremely sad and worried.

"Master Kenobi, what's wrong with him?"

The Jedi looked down at her, looking mildly surprised. "You're rather perceptive, young one. He's…"

He trailed off once again and looked into her eyes. "He's—he's dying, Aaliza."

Aaliza jumped and looked down at the man once again. "No! No, he can't be…"

Tears began to fill her eyes and she once again remembered what the man had said.

"_Crying isn't going to change it. Tears make you weak. They only slow you down."_

She tried not to cry but she just couldn't help it. The tears leaked out and she began sobbing. Master Kenobi held her gently and she could feel him trembling.

"His name, Aaliza… his name is Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker."

* * *

**Review! Ani will die otherwise!! O_O**


	31. You're Not Alone

**Okay, bad cliffie + longer-than-expected-wait = angry readers. O_O Don't hurt me!!! **

***army of readers*: Updaaaaaaaaateeeeee.......**

**Um... well, here's the update!!  
**

* * *

Obi-Wan sighed as he relaxed in some quarters provided for him.

It had been two months since Palpatine had been killed… two months since Anakin had entered into a coma. His brain activity was decreasing daily now, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

On the bright side, however, the Coruscanti citizens had worked together alongside the Jedi and the Alliance to rebuild and restore the Jedi Temple. Classes were beginning and life was very slowly returning to normal.

The Rebel Alliance had taken control of the capital and with its two leaders and capital gone, the Empire was crumbling fast. It would only be a matter of time before there would be nothing left. Already the Alliance was establishing a new government, a New Galactic Republic.

The renovations in the Jedi Temple had been going well. Most of the training areas had been restored, as well as most of the meditation and learning facilities. The medical wings and Halls of Healing were completely functional once again and many places began to look like they used to, even though they held scars from the original purge. Obi-Wan was even informed that he would soon be able to return to his older quarters that he had shared with Anakin when the latter was just a Padawan.

Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure he would want to move in once again.

Not all of the changes had been in politics and architecture, however. It seemed that Dooku was actually considering returning to the Jedi, a fact that still shocked Obi-Wan every time he considered it. Master Yoda, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic over the idea.

Obi-Wan could understand why the aged Jedi would feel that way. After all, every Jedi was practically a youngling in Yoda's eyes, even Dooku. Perhaps the only one who wasn't quite that way to Yoda was… Anakin.

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan could see why his former Padawan had felt so alienated in the Jedi Order. No one knew what to do with him. He was too old to train and yet an exception was made. He was automatically made a Padawan but that was because Obi-Wan had promised Qui-Gon to train him. He was a regular youngling but he was also the Chosen One. Good Force it was a miracle he didn't fall to the dark side sooner.

Another change was in Aaliza. They had originally intended to take her back to her mother on Naboo, but that had been halted in its tracks. There had been an Imperial raid on Naboo shortly after the Alliance presence left the area, no doubt sent by Palpatine. The girl's mother had been killed. The baby she had been carrying survived, though; he had just been born a few days before the raid.

Aaliza had shown immense strength over the past two months. She had found out about her mother's death about a week after Palpatine's death. When he first told her, she had turned pale and began crying hysterically. He couldn't blame her; losing a parent was one of the worst pains one could experience; he had discovered that when Qui-Gon had died. After the initial tears, Aaliza had grown secluded and began visiting Anakin on a daily basis. Two weeks later, she began talking to Obi-Wan again. Eventually, the girl finally began talking to everyone once more but she had a heavier way of speaking and carrying herself, almost as if the death of her mother weighed down on her.

Obi-Wan felt sorry for the youngling, but there was nothing that could be done. The Jedi had offered for her to remain in the Temple and she had heartily agreed. They did not tell her about her younger sibling, however; the boy had been shown to be Force sensitive as well and they didn't want her to cling to the boy and lay all of her emotional baggage on him. He had been brought to the Temple a week ago and was now in the fully functional nursery.

Hearing the door chime, Obi-Wan broke out of his meditation and stood up. "Come in,"

The door hissed open to reveal Aaliza. She had begun making daily visits to Obi-Wan just before noon and the two would talk about everything and nothing before heading down to lunch. After that, Obi-Wan would visit Anakin while Aaliza returned to the crèche to which the Jedi assigned her.

"Hello, Aaliza," Obi-Wan greeted.

Aaliza smiled. "Hi, Master Kenobi,"

The two walked down to the gardens, Aaliza's favorite place to be. They sat down in the shade and began a conversation about Aaliza's training as a Jedi. She showed enthusiasm for the task, something Obi-Wan painfully remembered that was a trait in Anakin as a boy.

"You are very lucky, you know," Obi-Wan said to her seriously. "It is very rare for someone your age to be accepted into the Jedi Order."

"I heard that someone else was accepted when they were almost my age," Aaliza commented. "He was nine, I think."

"Oh, really?" Obi-Wan asked, hiding the smile that threatened to break out. He played along, wondering if the girl even realized that he had trained that boy.

"Yes," Aaliza replied earnestly, nodding her head. "They said he was very powerful and went way faster than everybody else. They never said his name, though."

"I wonder why," Obi-Wan joked, a somewhat sarcastic tone creeping into his voice.

Vaguely, Obi-Wan noticed Padmé talking to Luke and Leia near the waterfall in the garden. Aaliza did not seem to notice, however, but she did take note of the time. "Master Kenobi, it's almost noon. Shouldn't we go to lunch?"

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded. "Of course; go ahead and I will catch up, all right?"

Aaliza nodded and skipped off while Obi-Wan walked over to the three members of the Skywalker family. "I must say I am surprised to see you in here."

Obi-Wan was referring to their constant watch over Anakin or their habit of avoiding the Jedi Temple altogether.

"We just wanted to relax for a little while," Padmé explained. "And I told them there was no better place on Coruscant than in the Jedi Temple,"

"Of course," Obi-Wan smiled knowingly. "Would you care to join me for lunch?"

"We were just going to go visit Father and then go out to lunch." Leia informed him.

"Ah, I see," Obi-Wan nodded. He knew he had to be with them to offer support; they had been hit as hard as he had, perhaps even worse. He was not quite sure, though; he viewed Anakin as his own son and brother, after all. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

Luke smiled and Padmé nodded while Leia seemed distracted, looking off in the distance. Obi-Wan felt an odd prickling feeling as well, but he shoved it aside, focusing on the Skywalker family; they needed his help right now.

As they left the garden, Obi-Wan sent a message to Aaliza through the Force, saying that he would not be able to make it for lunch. Aaliza did not know how to reply but he could sense that she received the message and understood it.

They walked to the Halls of Healing in silence when Leia began to pick up her pace. Luke seemed to notice something too and he followed her. Padmé gave Obi-Wan a bewildered look.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Obi-Wan paused, suddenly realizing that the odd sensation through the Force was coming from the medical wing. Without replying to the poor Naboo ex-senator, Obi-Wan rushed ahead and ran past the twins.

* * *

Dooku walked around the Temple, feeling distinctly out of place and yet comforted by being there once more. He was wearing the traditional garb of a Jedi Master considering he was now a part of the Order again.

Sighing, he strolled down the massive hallway and passed by a group of Jedi Padawans who were all talking and giggling amongst themselves. Dooku vaguely wondered why he had never had that much fun. He wondered why he had let one mistake, one person, ruin his life. He was not even thinking about Palpatine now. No, the person who had started his horrible lack of trust was his best friend when he was a youngling.

Lorian Nod had been Dooku's best friend. However, when the former had accessed a restricted Sith holocron and blamed _Dooku_ for the incident, any trust Dooku ever had for anyone was lost. Looking at it in retrospect, Dooku sighed and realized that he had been quite childish, perhaps even more so than Lorian, for even though Lorian had done a horrible thing and had many crimes after the fact, in the very end, he returned to the light. It took Dooku _two_ lives to realize that!

Dooku suppressed a chuckle but then suddenly paused, sensing something. He knew that Force signature anywhere; after all, his old master had been dedicated to tainting it.

Dooku turned and rushed off towards the medical wing.

* * *

He had been floating in darkness for Force knew how long. In that time, he had practically relived his whole life. He missed the others right now. He wished he could find them, but he guessed they were not anywhere nearby. Maybe they just did not want to be around him anymore after all the pain he had put them through. What in the blazes was he babbling about?!

He wanted to growl in frustration and beat his head into the ground but he couldn't move. Instead, he continued to float, swimming in a sea of darkness as he had been for the past twenty-four years.

Occasionally, he caught glances of the outside world. He was vaguely aware of what was going on, but it was all confusing to him. Was what he was seeing even what was going on around him or was it just his mind playing tricks on him? The reason for this question was merely the fact that one moment he would see Jedi around him and then the next he would find himself in a Star Destroyer… maybe he was just going insane. Maybe he had already _gone_ insane. Was he in a psych ward?

Now this was _really_ getting annoying. He had never been one for philosophical debates; he was just the type to get things done. He was practical. He did not want to bother with _what if_ or _if it were to be looked upon from a certain point of view_. Now he was babbling about the most ridiculous and random things in the galaxy as if he were a philosopher!

He wished he could really stop floating. Was he dead? Maybe that was it!

He sighed. Life was so confusing sometimes. On the other hand, maybe it was death. Oh, _whatever_.

He heard things. They were vague sounds, muffled and incoherent. Was that someone talking? Did he hear voices? Maybe he really _was_ losing it.

Slowly, _very_ slowly, the voices made their way into his brain and began somewhat making sense. He could not understand what they were saying but he began to recognize the voices themselves.

Was that Obi-Wan? He thought he heard Padmé too… and Luke! And… _Leia_? Hey, wait; he heard Dooku's voice, too! What was that guy doing there? But—but Dooku's from the Clone War, Luke and Leia are from the Galactic Civil War, Obi-Wan's from the Jedi, and Padmé's from the Republic!

Now he was really confused. Could anything _ever_ make sense?

Memories began sluggishly replaying in his mind once more as if he had just viewed them for the first time since they actually happened. He heard blades crashing, thunder booming, lightning striking… he heard many things. It was a symphony of distorted sounds and sensations. They bombarded him from all sides until he moaned and they suddenly stopped… well, most of them; there was one memory left still playing.

He saw himself fighting against Palpatine. In slow motion, he saw the final moves delivered.

_Ouch_, he thought vaguely as he watched the lightsaber pierce through his own gut.

The memory finished playing since everything just faded into darkness. Wait that was it? So he just… died? He really _was_ dead? _Again?_ No, he could not be dead… he felt something! A… a hand, maybe? He was not sure what he felt, but it was definitely _something_. It was on his forehead and it was warm, and… was it a hand?

The voices began to grow louder. He heard Yoda's voice join in, too. Then he heard a young voice that belonged to a girl. The voices grew louder and then softer again. They started fading and a loud beeping noise began playing obnoxiously, beating into his eardrums. The voices grew panicked and he sensed fear and worry. He heard someone shout, but he didn't know what they said.

Good Force this was frustrating!

Suddenly his consciousness started slipping. He heard the voices fading away, and he felt the presences beginning to disappear. Were they leaving him? They were abandoning him!

He tried to call out, but he couldn't. He couldn't have them leave him again, could he? He didn't want that, he did not want to be alone in the darkness again!

He sighed once more, trying to calm down. He was just having a weird philosophical random moment, that was all… at least he hoped so. Goodness, this was annoying!

He never was one for patience anyway, so this incident was _not_ helping. However, any irritation quickly degenerated into panic as he felt everything just slipping away and he began to fall. He began to breathe quickly, trying to fight it. He was surrounded by silence and cold, unfeeling darkness. He could no longer hear the voices. Force, please, no…

He had to fight. He had never given up before! The word _impossible_ merely turned to _difficult_ in his mind, so this should not be any different!

Still… was it really worth it? The last time he had given a task his all, the person he was trying to protect ended up _dying_. That does not serve as a very good record of accomplishment.

Everything was silent as death. He couldn't even hear his own heartbeat… after a while he began having difficulty hearing his own thoughts. Was this abandonment? Were his friends and family not coming to help him?

_Tch, well _that's_ a selfish thought_, he grumbled to himself, even though he could barely hear it. Why would _they_ come to help him after all he had done to hurt them? He _killed_ two of them and tortured the other two. As for the rest of the inhabitants in the area that he had heard, one he ruined for life by killing everything he held dear, he _murdered_ the other… and, well, the girl was the girl.

Hopelessness filled him but he did not give into the despair. After all, he deserved every bit of it, so he shouldn't go around feeling sorry for himself. He should just accept his dismal fate.

As these thoughts went through his head, a fiery defiance began to rise inside him. This defiance felt rebellious and did _not_ want just to _give up_. But what was he to do? He deserved this punishment, whatever the heck it was.

_No_, the voice argued. It sounded young, alive, very much unlike him now. _You just want to wallow in your own misery? Get a grip and _fight_!_

The darkness began to swallow him. He started to suffocate and became terrified. He grabbed a hold of the rebellious feeling and held onto it as he fought with all his might against the horrifying shadows. He was practically kicking and screaming by the time he began to hear voices again. They sounded worried and upset. He couldn't even recognize them. Everything became a confused blur once more. Great, he went from boring floating, to terrified flailing, and was _now back at square one!_

Slowly but surely, the voices began to become recognizable again. Obi-Wan, Padmé, Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Yoda, Dooku… good Force how many people were there?

Eventually he could hear what they were saying now, even though it made no sense to his muddled mind.

"But—oh, Force, what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, we almost lost him there…"

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Just be patient,"

"You aren't looking that great yourself,"

"Come on, give him a break!"

"What? I wasn't trying to—"

"Look his heart rate's returning to normal!"

He was so confused now. What in the blazes were these people talking about?

He focused all his energy on trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, the darkness began to fade away. Above him he saw light begin to pierce through dully. Everything grew warm and he heard the voices more clearly.

Anakin opened his eyes.

* * *

Obi-Wan rushed ahead of the twins into Anakin's room and stopped dead in his tracks. There was some color on Anakin's cheeks.

Luke and Leia burst into the room next, followed by a flustered and confused Padmé, who quickly gasped when she saw her husband. The four walked up to the bed just as a healer ran in.

"He… is he waking up?" Leia asked the healer as he checked Anakin's vital signs.

"There is a possibility," the Bothan healer muttered. "Although I didn't think it would be possible,"

Another healer, the Chief Jedi Healer Vokara Che, entered the room and told them to back away so the healers would have room to treat Anakin.

They watched Master Che at her work for a short while, holding their breath. Dooku entered followed by Yoda, both immediately looking at Anakin.

"He's—he's waking up?" Dooku asked incredulously.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Yes, he is. Anakin's stubborn like that."

He couldn't help it; he just had to jab at Dooku, the situation called for it. After all, Obi-Wan was happier than he had been in two months and Dooku had always wanted to see Anakin dead, _so_ seeing him fight death off was a smack in the face. Sort of. Mentally shrugging, Obi-Wan put his past with the former Sith Lord aside and focused on Anakin.

Yoda blinked in his direction but Obi-Wan could sense the older Jedi letting his jip slide.

"Is he going to be okay?" Padmé asked.

"Well…" the Twi'lek chief healer said as she placed a hand on Anakin's forehead. "His vitals are doing well so far."

Luke laughed. "So he's going to pull out of it!"

Aaliza burst into the room. "Master Kenobi, is Master Skywalker going to wake up?"

Obi-Wan smiled kindly. "We think he is, Aaliza. We really think he is,"

Then suddenly the picturesque feel of happiness was gone. Anakin's vitals began to degenerate and fade. His heart rate was slowing down at an alarming rate. Machinery began beeping loudly as warning signals flared up. The healers rushed around as what little color was left on Anakin's face immediately faded.

Master Che shouted to the Bothan healer to get a healing crystal and Aaliza yelled out, but Obi-Wan quickly grabbed her to keep her out of the way. Padmé, Luke, and Leia were in a panic as well, but they remained rooted to their spots. Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Dooku watched with bated breath. Han and Chewbacca nearly ran over the door as they burst into the room and then froze at the sight of Anakin.

"Anakin, please hold on," Obi-Wan whispered, sending waves of energy through the Force to give Anakin the strength to fight. "You're not alone, _please_, come back,"

This terror lasted for about five minutes. Anakin's vitals continued to drop until they stopped. They remained dangerously low but began slowly and steadily climbing once again. The tension remained until his vitals reached a safe stage and then everyone breathed once more.

"Oh, Force," Luke let out a long breath, looking a little pale. "What was that?"

The explanation Master Che offered was lost as Obi-Wan merely stopped paying attention. He was just trying to breathe in and out again after getting so anxious. He had almost lost Anakin there.

Padmé looked worriedly at the healers. "But—oh Force, what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, we almost lost him there…" Obi-Wan muttered.

"Is he going to be okay?" Luke asked.

"Just be patient," Obi-Wan said reassuringly.

"You aren't looking that great yourself," Leia noted.

"Come on, give him a break!" Han came to Obi-Wan's defense.

"What? I wasn't trying to—"

"Look his heart rate's returning to normal!" Padmé pointed out.

Everyone's attention immediately returned to the heart monitor. Their attention was diverted once again to Anakin himself when they heard him take a deep breath. They all drew closer, ignoring the irritated look Master Che threw in their direction. A low moan issued from Anakin's throat as his eyes fluttered and then finally opened.

"Anakin!" practically the entire room shouted.

Anakin blinked and looked at them with hazed eyes, completely disoriented. Obi-Wan would be surprised if the boy could even understand them.

Apparently, he couldn't; he just continued to stare at them, completely discombobulated.

Obi-Wan put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled, knowing that speaking wouldn't make any sense to him. The others did similar. Padmé hugged him lovingly.

Master Che disturbed the mood very quickly. "All right, you all have to leave now. He needs his rest and we need to run some tests to make sure he's alright."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, but the Jedi Healer wouldn't give in… at least not entirely. "Only you four can stay," she said, motioning to Padmé, Obi-Wan, Luke, and Leia.

Yoda led Aaliza out as Dooku, Han, and Chewbacca followed, the latter two tossing a glance back in Anakin's direction.

"Oh, I don't believe it," Padmé muttered. "He's actually alright."

"I thought _I_ was going to die when his vitals started dropping!" Luke laughed, causing them all to laugh in relief.

Anakin watched them, blinking slowly and tiredly. He didn't move as the healers bustled about the room.

An hour passed by and the healers finally finished. Luke and Leia had gone to update the rest of the group on Anakin's health while Padmé and Obi-Wan sat beside him.

"Why hasn't he said anything?" Padmé asked.

"He's probably a little too disoriented to understand," Obi-Wan replied. "He has been in a coma for two months, after all,"

Padmé nodded, and Obi-Wan added, "Still, we can speak to him. I'm sure he'll find it comforting just to hear your voice."

"And yours," Padmé said seriously. "You don't know how much support you give him, Obi-Wan. He needs you."

Obi-Wan looked at her, a little startled. He knew that Anakin used to lean on him for help during missions, but emotional support, particularly _after_ he became a Knight?

He looked at her for a while longer before moving his gaze back to Anakin, who was half-asleep. The two proceeded in having a lengthy but one-sided conversation with him that lasted for about two hours, going even longer when Luke and Leia returned with dinner in tow.

By midnight, Luke and Leia were fast asleep. Padmé was beginning to grow drowsy and Obi-Wan handed her a blanket and suggested she get some rest.

He was about to turn in as well until he felt a hand slowly clutch his own hand. "Huh?"

Obi-Wan looked down to see Anakin's hand holding his weakly. His eyes searched into Obi-Wan's soul, looking for something.

"Anakin, what is it?" Obi-Wan asked, immediately kneeling down beside the bed so he and Anakin could look eye-to-eye directly. "What's wrong?"

Anakin continued to look at him intensely before squeezing the hand even tighter and then passing out. Obi-Wan blinked for a while and waited to see if he would wake up once more but he didn't. However, he didn't release his grip on Obi-Wan either.

Sighing, the Jedi Master watched his former Padawan all night.

* * *

**By the way, thanks for the reviewers for last chapter! If they hadn't reviewed, Anakin would have DIED. O_O Still, there is the possibility... um, just kidding, but PLEASE review!! :-)**


	32. Not Impossible

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Anakin felt so tired. When he tried to move it was almost as if he had ten-kilogram weights tied to every limb. He had been in bed for Force knew how long; he lost count after a week and a half. At least now he knew what had happened and where he was.

Obi-Wan shifted slightly, taking a deep breath before continuing to sleep. He had fallen asleep—_again_—while visiting last night. Anakin wished he could at least get a pillow for the poor Jedi but he could barely move. He knew Obi-Wan would be sore when he woke up.

Padmé had visited yesterday along with Luke and Leia. Everyone took shifts so someone was constantly there. Anakin didn't know what to think of it; many a time he was touched and surprised by their actions, but there were also a number of times where he just wanted to be _alone_ or at least to be _moving_. He could never sit still.

Getting impatient, Anakin closed his eyes and focused all of his energy on sitting up. He had had some gruesome injuries before and still survived; he could walk just a few _hours_ after his duel on Mustafar! Lying in bed for about two weeks was _not_ something he enjoyed.

Continuing to focus, he slowly began to shift his arms until he pushed himself into a sitting position. The movement startled Obi-Wan, who awoke with a jolt.

"Anakin!" he gasped when he noticed Anakin staring at him at eye level. "You're—are you alright?"

Anakin hadn't spoken through the entire duration in the Halls of Healing. Sighing, he supposed he might as well try now. "Y-yes… Master,"

Immediately after speaking, he looked away and focused on getting out of bed. He tried to ignore the honorific he just used… he hadn't used it consciously since the end of the Clone Wars… twenty-four years ago…

Anakin felt a soft and gentle hand touch his shoulder. He turned around to see Obi-Wan smiling. "What are you smiling at?"

Obi-Wan's shoulders began to shake as giggles escaped. He then simply began laughing. Anakin stared, completely dumbfounded. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"You—you never cease to amuse me!" Obi-Wan laughed. "This is just like you, you know. One minute you're sleeping peacefully and then the next you're trying to leap out of bed and hurl any insult that comes to mind."

"But—but you're s-supposed to be mad at me!" Anakin replied. "I mean—I was a backstabbing traitor before and then I b-became a jerk and—"

"You're forgetting something, my old friend,"

"What?"

"You understand you were wrong and you are sorry for it. For that, Anakin Skywalker, I will forgive you."

Anakin stared as silence took over the room. He was stunned speechless. After all the pain he had put Obi-Wan through, he could just—just _forgive_ him? He had destroyed everything Obi-Wan held dear and he could just forgive him?

Feeling the familiar sense of water swishing around one's mind, Anakin quickly put his mental shields up. "Stop reading my mind!"

Obi-Wan laughed. "I don't have to try; you wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Well not anymore," Anakin snapped. "I've learned from _that_,"

"Yes, it is a good idea to conceal one's emotions," Obi-Wan nodded. "But not to ignore them or hide from them. Anakin, all of these years, the only emotions you've fed on have been fear and hatred, completely ignoring everything else. It's about time you let go."

Anakin shook his head, finally letting the first genuine smile in years peek out. "I'll never understand you, Master. Five minutes ago you were sleeping and now you're giving me a lecture."

The two looked at each other before they both began to laugh and embraced for the first time in twenty-four years.

The door opened to reveal Padmé, Luke, and Leia, who had apparently been coming for their shift. They stood in shock for a moment before Luke and Leia rushed ahead and joined in the hug. Padmé watched the scene until Anakin stood up.

"Ani, you're going to hurt yourself!" she protested, running over. When she reached him, though, she paused. The two looked into the other's eyes silently.

Obi-Wan smiled and led the twins out of the room before Anakin and Padmé finally shared a passionate kiss.

* * *

Luke laughed with Obi-Wan as Leia walked off into the distance. She entered one of the Jedi Temple's cavernous hallways and began to take a stroll.

The feeling of hugging her father had been so odd and yet… comforting. It had also been amazing, like a rush of emotions that she hadn't experienced since Alderaan had been destroyed. She had felt angry at herself for forgiving him but that quickly passed and then surprise took over. She had been surprised that such powerful arms could be so gentle. Then his tenderness had surprised her. Even though he had been laughing, he hugged her like a loving and protective father would hug his little girl. It had scared Leia and yet she had loved it at the same time. She supposed this would take some getting used to… but she was _definitely_ willing to get used to it.

Noticing Yoda and Aaliza walking towards her, she saw Yoda's eyes sparkle knowingly. She knew better than to tell him that her father had finally managed to get out of bed; he knew already.

"Hi Princess Organa," Aaliza said politely.

Leia paused. "No, Aaliza, it's not Princess Organa. My name is Leia Skywalker."

* * *

The sun set over Coruscant two days later as the Skywalker family and friends stood outside of the Jedi Temple, enjoying the breeze the city provided.

"So, Palpatine's dead, the Empire's practically been defeated," Han took a deep breath. "All in all, I say it's been a good couple of months."

Anakin laughed. "Yeah, for _you_ maybe; I liked some of those Imperials."

"Then maybe they'll be smart enough to join the New Republic."

"Give me a break," Anakin rolled his eyes. "As if the New Republic's going to be any better than the Old Republic; you just wait and see, this government's going to turn ugly just like the old one did."

"What, and the Empire's better?" Han shot back.

"I'd say so, yes,"

"That's only because _you_ would have been the heir!"

"There's nothing wrong with that,"

"Besides galactic domination?"

"What's wrong with galactic domination?"

"What?! You little son of a Gamorrean!"

"I can't help it if you're an idiot, Solo,"

The two continued to bicker as everyone else laughed or rolled their eyes, sighing in resignation and exasperation.

"Will they ever stop?" Luke asked jokingly.

"Ah, no," Obi-Wan replied.

Chewbacca's growl interrupted the feud between the two. They both turned on the Wookiee. "What?"

Chewie made some sort of comment, snorting and grunting before suddenly laughing. Anakin and Han looked livid. "You—get back here!"

Han took off after Chewbacca while Anakin watched the two of them go before cocking his head to the side. A pipe came out of nowhere and tripped the two ex-smugglers, causing a string of curses that would make a pilot blush to emit from Han. Anakin merely laughed. "I rest my case,"

Dooku rolled his eyes. "Bickering with such low-lives, Skywalker? Honestly,"

"I'd rather bicker with low-lives than deal with your ego," Anakin replied. "You always complained about me, but I can't breathe in the same room as you."

"Rooms cannot even fit your ego, I'm afraid," Dooku said. "You just make the ceilings cave in,"

Anakin growled, remembering when that actually _did_ happen during the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan began snickering.

Padmé sighed. "You men are impossible,"

"Nothing's impossible, Padmé," Anakin smiled, wrapping a loving arm around her. "Merely difficult,"

_Fin

* * *

_

**I'M FINISHED! HURRAY!! Whew, wow, it took me two years to finish this story! THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME!!!!!**

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**ILDV who has been reviewing since chapter 1!!  
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**twisterblake for being there in the beginning!  
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**general-joseph-dickson for giving great and original reviews the whole way through!  
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**THANK YOU!!!!!!!**

**And thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed!!!! I would also like to apologize for some of my insanely short chapters. This was my second SW fanfic and I apparently thought that a long chapter consisted of about 500 words. *shudders***

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